MyAzuStory
by raro6511
Summary: The life of six high schools girls and their teachers. This story with be based directly off of the Azumanga Daioh book and animation, however I will be adding background stories, details, and relationships that I thought should have been added into the series. Yukari/Nyamo. Kagura/Sakaki. Yomi/Tomo.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

'Ah. That was a nice sleep.' thought the woman as she rose out of bed. Minamo Kurosawa also known as Miss Kurosawa, Kurosawa-Sensei, and Nyamo, and sometimes even 'coach' was a high school teacher. She hopped up to make some coffee then take a shower. When she got out she dried herself and got dressed and sat down to enjoy the hot drink. 'First day of school' she thought to herself, 'I just hope that Yukari doesn't show up late, I don't think the principal would like a repeat of last year…

Yukari Tanizaki, happened to be Nyamo's closest friend. They had been friends since high school, and have stayed friends after both deciding to become teachers. Although Yukari often got on Nyamo's nerves, she somehow found it in her to stick close by, almost afraid of losing her, even though it was unclear to her why.

As Nyamo left the apartment to head to work, Yukari was still fast asleep in her bed, at her parents place. Her mom was in charge of waking her up every morning, and this morning, on the first day of class, her mom was not present.

_Yukari was sitting under a big cherry blossom tree, enjoying the feeling of having absolutely nothing to do, then she saw something, or more like someone, running at her with the speed of light. Yukari tried to make out who it was, but they were too far away. All of a sudden the person appeared right in front of her. 'YUKARI, WAKE UP YOU IDIOT!' shouted Nyamo. _

With that Yukari work with a start, cursing Nyamo out loud for waking her. She looked around to find an empty room with light shining through the blinds. When she noticed how bright it was outside she let out a string of cuss words and bolted for the restroom. She was out in 5 minutes ready to go to work.

"Goddammit, I can't believe I still have to ride my bike to school, Nyamo needs to hurry up and get herself a car so she can come pick me up!" Yukari said. And with that, she was off and down the road, mumbling curses the whole way there.

Yukari reached the school, late of course, and ran down the hallway and into her classroom. "Good morning class! I'm so sorry for being late, but I just know that this going to be a fantastic school year!" said Yukari giving the class a thumbs up. One of the male students in the class stood up raising his hand. "Uhm, Yukari-Sensei, this isn't your class. Yours is next door, this is Class 4." With that Yukari bolted out of the door and into the classroom over. "Hello class 3, I'm Yukari Tanizaki and I'll be your homeroom teacher for this school year." Yukari mumbled in monotone voice. ' Great, what a way to start off the school year' thought Yukari.

"Ahem".

"Who was tha… " started Yukari, "oh right, we have a new student today class. Her name is Chiyo Mihama and she's only ten years old. However, she is so smart that they let her skip from grade school to high school. Now I don't want anyone picking on poor little Chiyo-chan just because she is so smart." Yukari said with just the slightest hint of jealousy. "Okay Chiyo-chan, go ahead and take a seat." And with that the 10-year-old prodigy went and sat among her new high school classmates.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Chiyo sat down in her seat and took a good look around the class. She suddenly felt very, _very_ small and slightly scared. The high school kids were so much bigger than her. They looked stronger and meaner than the kids she played with in grade school. Chiyo started thinking about stories she had heard about high school kids bullying others who were smaller or weaker than them. She shuddered but quickly shoved the thought out of her head in order to listen to Yukari-Sensei's directions for the day.

Before she knew it, it was time for lunch. Chiyo got up and walked with her classmates to the lunch room. It was huge. Much bigger than the lunch room at grade school. Chiyo, still scared to approach anyone, picked the last empty lunch table located in a corner of the lunch room. She sat down, opened her lunch and finally was starting to relax as she began to eat.

"HIYA THERE CHIYO-CHAN!"

Chiyo was so frightened she fell right out of her seat. She looked up to see a girl with short hair pointing and laughing. Chiyo wanted to cry until she saw a taller girl with glasses and brown hair hit the other girl on the head. The bespectacled girl looked worried.

"Are you okay Chiyo? I'm sorry about her. She doesn't have one functioning brain cell in her I'm afraid," said the girl, helping Chiyo up.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you"

"Well that's good. I'm Koyomi Mizuhara, by the way. You can call me Yomi though. You and I are in Yukari-Sensei's homeroom"

"Hey, what about me!" shouted the short haired girl.

"Oh right. Chiyo this idiot right here is Tomo Takino. You'll soon realize that she is the most annoying and loud girl you've ever met. That is if you haven't realized it already. She, unfortunately is in the same homeroom with us."

Tomo got up and wrapped her arm around Yomi's neck. "Oh come on now Yomi. I know you really don't mean that. She's gotten used to me and I'm sure you will too Chiyo! Right Yomi-chan?"

"No."

Chiyo watched the two argue a bit before she interjected.

"Well uhm, would you two like to join me for lunch?"

"Sure!" yelled Tomo, bouncing up and down. Yomi just smiled and nodded.

After lunch Chiyo was stopped by the principal who wanted to welcome her to the high school. This gave Yomi the chance to scold Tomo properly about earlier.

"Geez Tomo. You didn't have to scare the poor girl like that! She looked absolutely terrified!"

"I know, I couldn't help it though. She's just so little and cute ya know? It was pretty funny though ya gotta admit!"

"No it wasn't even the least bit funny. She's only 10 years old Tomo!"

"Yeah and?" snorted Tomo, "She's a high school student now which means she can be treated like one."

Yomi sighed and looked down. "Just don't be too mean to her, okay Tomo? Tomo?"

Tomo had stopped and was now staring at Yomi up and down with an inquisitive look on her face.

"What are you doing?" asked Yomi.

"Oh, ya know. I was just trying to figure out what parts of your body you gained the most weight in over the summer break."

With that comment Tomo was running at full speed down the hallway with Yomi chasing her, trying not to yell obscenities.

All the chaos from the two girls was causing many people to stop and stare, worried about the girl with short hair who looked more like the victim than the one who really was. However, to those who already knew Tomo and Yomi they ignored them because for those two, this was normal, everyday behavior.

Tomo and Yomi go way back. Much like Yukari and Nyamo. They met back in grade school and have been friends ever since. Tomo is a loud and obnoxious girl who acted out on a whim. Yomi on the other hand was the opposite, for the most part. She tended to be more quite and mature than her counter part. In fact the only time she was ever seen having fits of rage was when Tomo was annoying her. The fact that they have remained friends for so long truly validates the statement that opposites attract.

After Yomi caught up with and beat Tomo, they met up with Chiyo-chan and headed back to class.

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Not many teachers had things for them to do considering it was the first day.

With the final bell ringing for the day, Tomo and Yomi waved bye to Chiyo and walked home. Chiyo watched her newfound friends turn around and walk off, then started walking home herself. She somehow knew that these were going to be the best 3 years of her life.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When Nyamo walked into the faculty room after school let out she found a sleeping Yukari who somehow already found a way to completely clutter up her desk. She just shook her head and smiled slightly.

She went over to wake her up and her smile vanished and was replaced with a slight look of disgust. Yukari was drooling all over herself, forming a little puddle near her mouth on the desk

"Ugh Yukari, wake up. You cannot possibly this tired." Said Nyamo, shaking her friends' shoulders.

"Snow crab!" yelled Yukari as she woke with a start, "Dammit Nyamo can't I sleep in peace without you waking me up all the time!"

"We're at work! You shouldn't be sleeping here anyway! What if someone else saw you?"

"Ya, Ya," Yukari started, "it was just a really good dream you woke me up from, that's all."

"I can tell, you've managed to create a pool on your desk. Anyway, I was looking for you to ask how your first day was. How is your class?"

"It was alright. I was late of course, 'cause of my mom, but it looks like I have a decent bunch of kids."

"That's good. Hey didn't you end up with that really smart 10 year old? What was her name…Chiyo Mih…"

"Chiyo-chan, yeah she's in my class. She is pretty damn smart. She was already helping out some of the high school kids."

"Really?" asked Nyamo. "That's pretty amazing. So she's making friends then? No one is picking on her? Oh god. You're not picking on her are you Yukari?"

"No, Jesus, what kind of person do you think I am!"

Nyamo just glared at her.

Yukari gave a loud sigh. "Uggh, yes she's made friends already. One of them tallish with brown hair and glasses."

"Oh yes, I had her today in my P.E. class. I think her name is Koyomi Mi…"

"Ya ya whatsername," interrupted Yukari. "Anyway the other girl she made friends with came attached to Koyomi whatever her name is. She on the other hand is really loud and out there. Just today I had announced that we were getting a transfer student from Osaka tomorrow and that girl told her friend to say something or another and next thing I knew there were desks and chairs flying all over the place. I mean, who acts like that in public?"

Yukari looked at Nyamo who was smirking at her and looking as if she were replaying something in her head.

"Sounds like SOMEONE I know." said Nyamo

"Oh shut up." Replied Yukari before Nyamo could start telling a story. "So my mom is picking me up today to repay me for not waking me up this morning. Need a ride?"

"Uhm, n-no that's okay."

"What? Why? Who turns down a free ride?"

"Someone who already has a car" replied Nyamo, preparing herself for Yukari's reaction.

"WHAT? WHEN? HOW COME YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOU GOT A CAR?"

"Yesterday. Shh, Yukari you're making a scene…"

"I DON'T CARE. I'M HURT NYAMO, TRULY HURT! YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL YOUR BEST FRIEND THAT YOU'RE BUYING A CAR? NOR CAN YOU PICK HER UP ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASSES SO SHE ISN'T LATE?"

The teachers in the faculty room could no longer contain their curiosity and were starting to lift their eyes from their desks to witness the commotion.

"Look Yukari, I'm sorry! What can I do to make it up to you? I'll do anything!"

Nyamo knew she would regret adding those last three words, but right now she just wanted Yukari to shut up so she could get the attention off of them.

"Anything?" asked a grinning Yukari calming down almost immediately. "Well in that case, you're going to have to give me rides to work and back home from now on."

Nyamo just sighed and looked down. 'Well, I was probably going to end up giving her rides anyway so I guess its not that bad' she thought.

"Fine, Yukari."

"AND!"

Nyamo flinched.

"You'll have to treat me to steak dinner at least once a week"

"Ugh, Yukari really? I think me driving you everywhere for probably the rest of my life is fair enough!"

"Okay okay, then how about just tonight?"

"No."

"Come on!"

"Nope."

"Please?"

Nyamo was taken aback by that word coming out of Yukari's mouth. She'd never heard it from her before. Nyamo looked at Yukari who was now pouting with her arms crossed like a child. Nyamo thought Yukari looked cute when she did that. She could never let Yukari know that, of course.

"Fine, we'll go out tonight." Nyamo gave in. She always gave in.

"But no alcohol, it's a school night!"

It seemed as if Yukari hadn't heard that last part as she shouted a celebratory "wahoo!" and bolted out the door and towards the parking lot.

"Wait!" shouted Nyamo. "You don't even know which car is mine!"


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews and subscribes so far guys. I really wasn't expecting any kind of response to this story. I've never written anything before, other than essays for school, but I am enjoying this. Any suggestions will be gladly taken and used if I see that they will work. So far I'm feeling like this fiction might be on the long side. I have lots of ideas and stories that I want to get into the story, so I hope I don't bore you along the way. Hopefully I'll come up with a way to condense all these ideas. Thanks again :)

Chapter 4

Nyamo woke up on the floor of her apartment with a terrible headache. The beeping alarm on her sports watch sounded like a foghorn so she quickly turned it off and threw it across the room in frustration.

'What the hell,' she thought 'what happened last ni…Yukari.'

Nyamo cursed Yukari in her head over and over, reminiscing about last night. She tried to get Yukari to stop drinking but she eventually just gave up and joined in herself. 'I really have to stop giving in to her. I hope she's ready for an earful when I pick her up for work.'

As Nyamo got up off the floor she realized that she wouldn't have to be picking Yukari up. She was fast asleep in Nyamo's bed, drooling all over her new pillow. Nyamo must of felt bad for Yukari last night didn't want to leave her at her parents place.

She sighed and went to sit at the edge of the bed. She started to try and wake Yukari. Nyamo was being gentle at first because she knew Yukari would have a worse hangover than her, but her attempts were useless. She gave up.

"YUKARI GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED!"

"Eh…wha?" mumbled a groggy Yukari. The she screamed.

"AHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE NYAMO? AND WHY ARE YOU WATCHING ME SLEEP YOU PERV!"

Nyamo turned red from both anger and embarrassment. She quickly covered Yukari's mouth with her hand to shut her up.

"You're in my apartment you idiot! We got drunk last night and I must have pitied you enough to let you stay here instead of dumping you at your parents' place!"

Yukari licked Nyamo's palm, which was still over her mouth, causing Nyamo to remove her hand.

"Oh yeah, I remember now." Said Yukari scrunching up her face, trying to remember everything that happened last night.

"Ew. Gross Yukari. I swear I sometimes feel like you've never grown up. Go take a shower and find something of mine you can wear. Hurry up! I don't want to be late."

"Yeah, yeah" replied Yukari and with that she was off to the bathroom, leaving Nyamo to go make breakfast.

They arrived at the high school an hour and half later, with just enough time to get to their classrooms.

When Yukari got to her classroom she promptly went to her desk and put her head down to get some more sleep. The class just stared, wondering if this was going to be an everyday thing.

"Miss Yukari, Miss Yukari, Miss Yukari!" shouted Tomo, bouncing up and down, causing her desk and chair to make a lot of noise; Too much noise for the hung-over Yukari.

"WHAT?" shouted Yukari.

"Oh uhm, aren't you gonna introduce the new girl from Osaka?"

"Oh yeah, where is she?" asked Yukari looking around the class.

Yukari spotted the girl already in a seat, with her head behind a book.

'Wow,' thought Yukari, 'first day and she already wants to get a head start on work.'

"Well class, we have a new transfer student in today from Osaka, as you just heard Tomo say, her name is…..What's your name?"

There was no response. Yukari moved closer to the girl and asked again, but still no response. Yukari was getting agitated. She walked right up to the girl and grabbed the book from her. The girl was fast asleep.

"WAKE UP! NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO SLEEP IN MY CLASS, EVEN NEW TRANSFER STUDENTS!" Yukari gave the new girl a good whack on the head with the book.

"Aooww, now why'd you go 'n do that for?" replied the girl groggily.

Yukari ignored the question and asked hers again. "So what is your name?"

"Ohh, mine? It's Ayumu Kasuga and I'm from Os…"

"Yeah yeah, Osaka, we know. Don't fall asleep in here again!" Yukari went back up to her desk and put her head down, earning a lot of sighs and groans from the class.

"Woohoo! Free day and it's only the second day of class! Pretty cool huh Yomi?" asked Tomo who had turned around in her chair in order to face Yomi.

"Yeah I guess, but I wonder if Ms. Yukari will be like that a lot? What do you think Chiyo-chan?"

Chiyo started to give a reply but was interrupted by Ayumu.

"Woah, what's a grade school kid doin' in high school? Yer so small and cute. Are you like the school mascot 'er somthin'?

Chiyo's face was starting to get red with anger.

"I am not the school mascot, nor am I in grade school! I'm Chiyo Mihama and I'm a high school student!"

Ayumu looked like she was mulling the possibility of Chiyo actually being a high school student over in her head.

"Yeah, she really is a high school student." Said Yomi, trying to get Chiyo to calm down and help reassure Ayumu that Chiyo wasn't lying.

"Hmm, okay I believe ya'. Well, I'm Ayumu Kasuga from Osaka."

Tomo, Yomi, and Chiyo introduced themselves and all four girls took part and friendly chatter until it came time for lunch.

When they came back from lunch, Tomo apparently thought she had become comfortable enough with her new friend, and vise versa, to brand Ayumu with a nickname. A nickname that held no imagination whatsoever.

"ATTENTION CLASS 3 AND ALL OTHERS WHO CAN HEAR ME. FROM NOW ON AYUMU KASUSGA SHALL HENCEFORTH BE KNOWN AS OSAKA!"

Everyone gave their sign of understanding and seemed satisfied with name. Everyone except for Osaka.

'Oh well' thought Osaka, 'There ain't much I can do 'bout it now.'

From then on, she was known by all students, staff, and faculty as Osaka.

Before school let out for the day Yukari had one last assignment for them. It was a career path sheet that she told her students to fill out with their top three career choices. She put Chiyo in charge of picking them up.

She went around the room and picked them up one by one but paused when she got to this one girl who scared her. This girl was really tall, and really quiet. This combination of things made the girl terrifying. Chiyo slowly approached the girl.

"U-uh excuse me, Miss Sakaki?"

"Mmm?" The girl replied, not letting her eyes leave the window.

"D-do you have your career sheet ready?"

"Oh, yeah" said Sakaki handing Chiyo the paper.

Chiyo looked down at the paper.

_Veterinarian _

_Florist_

_Stuffed Animal Boutique owner_

Chiyo was in awe with Sakaki's responses. She decided then and there that she had nothing to be afraid of and that she wanted to become friends with the taller girl.

At the end of the day, there were now a group of 5 girls, all sitting together and chatting idly about their likes, dislikes, and whatever else material budding friendships required.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chiyo-chan, Osaka, Yomi, Tomo, and Sakaki were all seated quietly in their seats with their attention at the front of the class. Yukari had just come in, sat down, and fell asleep at her desk.

"We're already a month into school and she's still doing that. How was she able to get, or even keep a teaching position?" asked Tomo

A piece of chalk came flying through the air and hit Tomo square on the head. She opened her mouth to protest but Yukari was already back asleep, except this time with a smirk on her face.

"Ugh. I hate when she does that." Grumbled Tomo, rubbing her head.

"That's what you get. You shouldn't be talking about your teacher like that. Even if you are right." Said Yomi quietly while chuckling at the injured Tomo.

"I wonder what her story is though. You think she's been this lazy all her life?" asked Tomo.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure tha older ya get tha lazier ya get," said Osaka, whom herself was struggling to keep her eyes open.

Another piece of chalk came flying through the air and hit Osaka this time. The girls turned to look at Yukari, but she had once again fallen asleep.

"I think we should probably stop talking about this subject. What if we're hurting Ms. Yukari's feelings?" said a concerned Chiyo-chan. Sakaki was nodding slightly behind her in agreement.

"Nah, I don't think so. I want to know more about her. I'm gonna ask her!" said Tomo, standing up and marching towards Yukari's desk.

"No!" said Yomi in something that sounded like half a whisper and half a yell to keep their teacher from waking up. "You can't just ask someone about their personal life Tomo. It's _PERSONAL._"

"Then what do you suppose we do? I want to know some stuff about her. Nothing too personal, just to get to know her better. I know you all do too!" Tomo pointed at all the girls, none of which were making eye contact, not even Chiyo.

"Aha," said Tomo, "there you have it. We all want to know, so it's not a big deal. Besides, She's always up in our personal lives."

"But Yomi is right Tomo," started Chiyo. "You can't just start asking questions about someone's personal life, especially someone older than you."

"Well why don't ya just go 'n ask Ms. Kurosawa?" said Osaka.

"Huh?" asked Tomo and Yomi simultaneously.

"Oh yeah!" said Chiyo-chan, suddenly sounding very enthusiastic about the idea. "Ms. Kurosawa must have been friends with Ms. Yukari for a long time. She's always giving her rides in the morning and afternoon. I also always hear Ms. Yukari calling Ms. Kurosawa by her nickname…Nyamo is what I think it is if I hear correctly."

"Hmmm… nice observation Osaka," stated Yomi. "I wouldn't peg you as the kind of person who pays much attention to her surroundings to be honest."

Yomi turned her head to Osaka who was now fast asleep.

"That was fast."

The girls chatted for the remainder of class and through lunch, mostly about what they thought Yukari must have been as a high school and college student. After lunch was P.E., so they would have their answer soon enough

"Ms. Kurosawa! Yelled Tomo from across the gym, skipping her way over the P.E. teacher. "Ms. Kurosawa, we have a question for you."

"Who's we?" asked Nyamo, slightly worried that the girl might be developing a mental problem. 'Wouldn't be surprised.' Thought Nyamo.

However, Tomo looked over Nyamo's shoulder and motioned with her head. Nyamo turned around to find four more girls standing behind her.

'Uh oh,' thought Nyamo. 'I wonder what these girls are up to. These five are Yukari's favorite bunch, although I'm sure they don't know that. I wonder if she put them up to something…'

Nyamo unconsciously put on a pained expression, getting ready for whatever Tomo was about to ask her.

"So, Ms. Kursosawa, Nyamo, if I may…"

"No, you may not." Interrupted Nyamo, but she was sure Tomo didn't hear her. Or she just plain ignored her.

"What was Yukari like in high school?"

Nyamo grinned. 'Oh the things I could tell them' she thought. Nyamo knew she probably shouldn't be talking about Yukari's personal life behind her back, but these girls were just curious and Yukari does talk to them a lot. It actually rather surprised Nyamo that Yukari hadn't told them anything already. She pondered a little more on whether or not she should divulge the information. Tomo started to tap her foot impatiently. 'Well I guess this is to get her back for all the stuff she's done to me' thought Nyamo.

"Okay fine. Let's see, where should I start off…."

"LOVE LETTER! Loooooove letttterrrr. L-l-love letter."

Nyamo whipped her head around to see a singing Yukari walking by. Nyamo froze. A memory flashed across her eyes. A memory she both loved and hated. She glared at Yukari who just laughed and grinned in response and kept on walking. Nyamo turned and faced the girls.

"She was an average student, one could say. Now get back to running laps." Nyamo blew her whistle, making the girls jump slightly.

'Dammit Yukari. Of all the things you could have brought up, you choose that. And to bring it up in front of that group of girls…. They're not going to let it go.' Thought Nyamo, balling her hands into fists. 'You're going to pay for this Yukari.'

After that P.E. class, Nyamo had an off period. She went to her desk in the faculty room and put her head down. The memory she briefly recalled earlier was now replaying itself fully in her head.

_Minamo Kurosawa knew she was different from all the other girls she saw everyday in school. While most girls like make-up, skirts, malls, and gossip, Minamo did not. Minamo liked sports. She liked to run, swim, and play basketball. She had short hair and she liked to wear comfortable sports clothes, sometimes consisting of a few men's clothing items. She didn't like to talk much, and she really resented gossip. Minamo Kurosawa didn't even like boys. She realized this in junior high after joining the swim team. Since grade school, Minamo never had any friends. Sure, someone would come up to talk to her, but they eventually just left, and eventually everyone started being mean to her, particularly this one group of girls who picked on Minamo every chance they got. Minamo would do anything she could to avoid them, but always failed. In junior high though, Minamo met someone who was nice to her. Her name was Eiko and she was joined the swim team on the same day that Nyamo had joined. Eiko began talking to Nyamo little by little, and Nyamo thought for sure that it would end up like every other 'friend' she had. But it didn't. Eiko was always nice to Nyamo. She always talked to her, practiced for swim meets with, and they occasionally studied together. In the second year of junior high, Eiko had made a new group of friends and Nyamo thought for sure she was going to lose her. The pain and fear that Nyamo felt was unbearable. It was then that she realized that what she felt for Eiko was more than friendship. She was in love with her. It scared her to think that she could be in love with another woman. She knew she could never tell anyone, not even her parents. These feelings felt so right. She never felt like this for any boy or man. Minamo was relieved when Eiko didn't stop hanging out with her. They still did all the same things; the only thing that was different was the group of friends that Eiko now had to entertain. This left less time for Minamo, but Eiko always made the effort to come around often. This lasted all throughout junior high and Nyamo wanted nothing more than confess what she felt for this girl. However, Junior high quickly ended and Minamo had thought she had lost her chance. About mid summer between junior high and high school, Minamo got a call from Eiko who told her she was going to the same high school has her. Minamo could hardly contain her excitement as she hung up the phone. _

'_This is it' she thought, pacing back and forth in her room. 'This is a brand new school year, in a brand new school. I'm going to tell Eiko that I love her. I'll write it in a letter and hand it to her the first day. I should probably get started on it now to make it just right.'_

_The days passed so slow for Minamo that she felt as if it were torture, but finally the day arrived when she would be giving the letter to her closet, and only friend. Minamo put on her new uniform, which she despised because of the skirt, and headed off to school, the letter folded up, tightly clutched in her right hand. _

_The first thing Minamo did as she entered the high school was look for Eiko. She spotted her in five seconds. Just as she raised her hand to get Eiko's attention, someone pushed her to the ground. She fell hard, the letter falling from her hand._

"_Well, well. What does Minamo have here? It looks like a love letter by the way it's folded up so nice and tight." Said a tall girl with glasses and long black hair. "Maybe we should read this out loud so everyone can see who little Miss Minamo here is crushing on."_

_The two shorter girls behind the tall one just nodded with evil grins upon their faces._

"_NO!" shouted Minamo._

_She got up as quick as she could, but the girls were already running down the hallway. Minamo chased after them, eyes getting foggy with tears, for she knew if the content in that letter were read to everyone, her life would be over. _

_Minamo saw the girls go into a classroom and she followed suit right on their tail. However, once inside the class, a group of students had huddled around the tall girl with the note, who had been advertising what she was about to do to all those that were standing around. Minamo knew that it was over, her chance to save herself, gone. _

_Just as the girl was about to unfold the note, another girl, who Minamo had never seen before, snatched the note away from her. _

"_Now, now." Said the girl. "You really don't need to be such a big bitch."_

"_What did you call me?" said the taller girl, who was much taller than the girl who snatched the note._

"_A bitch. I called you a bitch and I think you need to stop picking on people before you end up picking on the wrong person." Said Minamo's savior. The girl took a step towards the taller one to show she wasn't afraid to kick her ass. Minamo took a second to really look at the girl. She was slightly shorter than Minamo, with long, very messy brown hair. She was wearing her uniform, along with everyone else, but it was terribly wrinkled as if she had been sleeping in it. Minamo studied the girls face and saw resilience and rebelliousness upon it. Characteristics Minamo wished she had. _

"_Fine," said the tall girl "you've gotten away from it this time Kurosawa, hopefully for your sake your little girlfriend here will always be around to save the day."_

_Minamo looked away, face turning red. The students quickly disbanded to the hallways to tell stories about what they just witnessed. It left Minamo and the unknown girl in the classroom alone. _

"_T-t-thanks for that," started Minamo. She reached out her hand to get the letter back from the other girl, but the girl quickly snatched her hand out of the way. Minamo was terrified; It must have shown on her face. _

"_Whoa now calm down. I'll give you your letter as soon as I am repaid for my good deed" said the girl, smiling brightly._

"_Repaid?"_

"_Yes. I wanted to celebrate the first day of high school today by going out for a nice steak dinner, but my parents work at night so I know they won't be able to take me. You on the other hand, can, and will. You owe it to me."_

"_B-b-but why…"_

"_Hmm, because if you don't take me out tonight I'll finish off the work that the tall bitch started."_

_Minamo just stared at the girl. 'Would she really do that after she stopped someone from….'_

_Her thought was interrupted as the brown haired girl started unfolding the note and clearing her throat._

"_No wait!" shouted Minamo. "Fine, I'll take you out tonight, anything, anywhere you want. Just promise me no one will read that letter. Not even you."_

"_Yeah, yeah" replied the brown haired girl, smiling broadly. _

_The girl took out a piece of paper and wrote down her address on it. _

"_It's a date then, meet me at my place at around 6, the restaurant I want to try is not far from there so we can just walk." The girl paused for a moment, appearing to be deep thought. "Make sure you bring enough money, I might want dessert."_

_And with that the brown haired girl was off. Leaving Minamo with all kinds of mixed emotions. Anger. Hatred. Fear. Comfort. Safe. Admiration. Minamo sighed. It was going to be a long night. _


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nyamo's eyes snapped open when she heard the final school bell ring. 'Kids should be gone any minute. Time to go get my revenge on Yukari for earlier.' Nyamo left the faculty room with a forceful stride, making her way down to Yukari's classroom. Before she whipped the door open, she could hear someone talking. She recognized the voice as Tomo's.

"Yukari-chan! Tell me what the love letter was about! Was it given to Nyamo or did Nyamo give it to someone? What did it say?"

Nyamo sucked in her breath. She was about to barge in until she heard Yukari speak up.

"No. I'm not telling you anything."

"But, but, but, you always like to annoy Nyamo. Don't you think it would be fun to tell me about the love letter?'

"Nope. And that's final Tomo. There's a fine line between annoying someone and hurting someone. You should know that, you dance on that line all the time with Yomi."

"Eh?"

"Ugh, nevermind Tomo. Get out! I'm hungry and I want to go home!"

Nyamo walked away before she could get caught eavesdropping. She went back into the faculty room and sat down.

_After school, Minamo went home and changed into more comfortable clothing that consisted of jeans and a t-shirt. She told her mom she was going for a run and left before receiving an answer. She was at the brown haired girls place in no time. Minamo didn't live that far from her actually. She wondered why she had never seen her before. When she arrived at the house the girl was already outside, waiting for Minamo. The girl had changed as well. She wore a light sweater and skirt. Minamo thought she looked very pretty and suddenly felt embarrassed and underdressed. _

"_It's about time you got here, alright, let's go."_

"_Wait, " said Minamo. "I don't even know your name."_

"_Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Yukari Tanizaki. I just moved to this neighborhood. I assume you've been living here for a while to have enemies like those girls today, eh Nyamo?"_

"_Nyamo?"_

"_Yeah, Minamo Kurosawa. Nyamo. That's what I'm gonna call you."_

"_Wait, but how do you know my name in the first place?"_

"_I read the letter, duh."_

_Minamo froze. She was physically unable to move. Her secret was out. This girl had read her letter. A girl that, at the moment, she had no idea she could trust. _

_Yukari turned around and stared at Minamo._

"_Uh, Nyamo what are you doing? I'm hungry and all this standing around isn't helping."_

_Yukari went and grabbed the newly dubbed Nyamo by the wrist and didn't let go until they reached the restaurant. The night went by fairly smooth. Minamo eventually snapped out of it, realizing that this Yukari girl didn't have a problem with her being into girls. They talked and talked all night, until the waiter had to get them to leave before the restaurant closed. Minamo, or Nyamo rather, walked Yukari home, and left with a new feeling inside her. A kind of warmth that radiated from the top of her head all the way down to her toes._

_Nyamo quickly found out however, that Yukari liked to annoy her. She did things that she knew would infuriate Nyamo and get her to burst out in anger but no matter what things Yukari did, Nyamo could not leave her. Yukari was there for her through thick and thin. She was Nyamo's protector, guardian, and savior. Yukari always stood up for Nyamo, always stood in between Nyamo and her bullies. Eventually, Nyamo stopped being so shy and was starting to be able to stand up for herself, with Yukari egging her on in the background, that is. Slowly, Nyamo began to realize that she was starting to depend on Yukari. She was starting to need her…. Starting to love her. _

Nyamo snapped out of it when she heard someone enter the faculty room. She turned around and saw Yukari. She couldn't help but smile at her. Her hair was disheveled, her skirt was slightly twisted, and one of her sleeves was rolled up to her elbow.

"What are you so happy about?" asked Yukari.

Nyamo ignored the slightly rude tone.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm starved. Let's go out to eat tonight. My treat."

Yukari just stared open mouthed at Nyamo as she got up and left the faculty room.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"So did she tell you anything about the letter?" asked Yomi, who was waiting outside the school for Tomo.

"No, damn her. She wouldn't give me one detail."

"Well that makes sense. It must be really personal and something that Nyamo trusts Yukari with."

"Yeah but she practically used it as blackmail today so Nyamo wouldn't tell us anything about Yukari!"

"Mhmm… but she obviously would never really say anything about it." Said Yomi, who was already getting tired with talking about the letter.

"Yeah I guess you're right…"

"When am I ever not right." Said Yomi confidently.

Tomo just grumbled something incoherently. She walked silently besides Yomi for a while, thinking about the last thing Yukari told her. It really bothered her. She had been friends with Yomi for a very long time, and Tomo was sure that she understood when she was joking and when she was being serious. Tomo then started thinking about all the fat jokes that she's made about Yomi, and was now starting to wonder if Yomi had always taken them seriously. She cared for Yomi a lot, even though she's never really admitted it. She couldn't hold in the question any longer.

"Hey Yomi, have I ever hurt you?"

"Psh, you crazy? I'm bigger and stronger than you. I'd take you down before you even had the chance to…."

"No," interrupted Tomo. "That's not what I meant."

"Eh?" asked Yomi, slowing down so she could study Tomo's face.

It was not real often that Tomo was serious about something. Yomi knew immediately that something was bothering Tomo, but she had no idea what it could be.

"So what do you mean then?" asked Yomi.

Tomo was quiet once again. They walked in silence for a minute; Yomi still staring at Tomo, waiting for an answer.

Tomo sighed outloud and shook her head, as if to erase what was going on in her head like an etch-a-sketch.

"Oh, nothing nevermind. Forget I said anything. But you are right once again Yomi-chan!"

"Oh am I? And what am I right about this time?" asked Yomi, smirking.

"You are definitely bigger than me!"shouted Tomo spreading her arms outward from her sides to emphasize her point.

She took off in a sprint, leaving Yomi far behind. Yomi caught up to her of course. Tomo had all the energy but none of the stamina. Yomi whacked Tomo on the back of her head before she sent her off to her house. She watched Tomo walk toward her house and then turned around to walk to hers. 'I don't know why I put up with that girl' she thought. 'But I guess growing up would have been pretty boring without her.'

Yomi smiled and walked into her house.

Meanwhile, Nyamo was sitting in the passenger seat of her car, holding on to anything she could in an attempt to save her life. She had given in too much this time. She allowed Yukari to test drive her new car, which she immediately knew was a big mistake even as Yukari backed out of the parking space.

"Whoo-hoo!" shouted Yukari. "This drives pretty smooth for an old lady car…"

Nyamo wanted to defend her car, but couldn't get the right words out.

"Yukari, that was a stop sign! Watch out for that old lady! You're going 20 miles over the speed limit!"

It seemed as if Yukari wasn't listening to a word Nyamo was saying. She had an evil grin on her face as she committed just about every moving violation known to man.

Five minutes later they arrived at their usual restaurant; the one that normally takes fifteen minutes to get to from the school.

Nyamo was frozen. Her hands didn't seem to want to release the seatbelt that they had been desperately clinging onto. Flashbacks of the drive over were already replaying in her head.

"Alright let's go!" said Yukari, starting to climb out of the car. "Nyamo? Hello, Nyamo?"

Yukari waved her hand in front of Nyamo's face. There was no reaction. She poked her arm, tugged her hair, and shook one of her shoulders. Nyamo was still frozen, and Yukari was getting worried.

'Geez, I didn't think my driving was this bad' she thought.

She unconsciously placed her hand on Nyamo's thigh. Nyamo instantly snapped out of it. Her eyes now gazing down at Yukari's hand. She then raised her eyes to Yukari's own.

"Hey, are you okay Nyamo? You've been kinda…. stuck there like that for a while."

"Y-y-yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay good, you were starting to scare me. For a second there I thought I was gonna be out of a free dinner." Yukari removed her hand, and exited the car.

Nyamo just sat there. Staring back at the place where Yukari had rested her hand, focusing on the warmth that still lingered there. She shook her head to try and get rid of those thoughts. 'Ugh, I can't believe I'm feeling like this again. It always comes and goes. I wish I could just stop thinking about her like this.

She sighed and watched Yukari through the mirror as she walked towards the restaurant, stopping just outside the entrance to wait for her.

'I'm going to need a strong drink. At least it's the start of the weekend.'

Nyamo got out and walked in the restaurant with Yukari, where they sat at their usual table, ordered their usual meals, and moved to the bar and stayed there, joking and laughing until the place closed for the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Okay everybody, settle down." started Yukari, who was unable to control her class. There were only two days left before the start of summer break, and her whole class was excited and exchanging stories about what they would be doing this summer. Yukari always had to have control, and hated when she didn't.

"SETTLE DOWN!" shouted Yukari while slamming a pile of books on her desk. This immediately caught the attention of her class, who were now all in their seats, with their attention at the front of the room.

"Listen you little punks, I don't want anyone failing any of the tests that are gonna be administered tomorrow, ESPECIALLY mine. You understand me? I don't wanna look like the teacher that does nothing but sleep the whole class period!"

Everyone in the class stared at each other, all thinking the same thing.

"I suggest everyone start studying now." And with that last piece of advice, Yukari put her head on the table and quickly fell asleep.

"Well, that's pretty ironic." Yomi pointed out, adjusting her glasses.

"Hmm, yes I agree with you Yomi, but for a teacher who sleeps so much, I have to admit, I have learned quite a bit from her so far. She is a pretty good English teacher." Said Chiyo-chan, scratching her head.

"Mmm." added Sakaki, appearing to be in agreement with Chiyo while also staring dreamily out the window.

"I suppose you're right Chiyo." Said Yomi, who was now thinking about how much she actually learned over the past three months.

"Ya! Even I learned a few new words in English from Yukari!" claimed Osaka, raising her hand as if a teacher had asked the class a question she had happened to know an answer to.

"Oh yeah? And what words would those be?" asked a surprised Yomi

"SEA SLUGS" answered Osaka, full of confidence and grinning broadly.

Yomi smiled and patted Osaka on the head as if she were a pet that just performed a trick correctly. Osaka smiled even wider, taking it as a compliment.

"So, what about you Tomo?" asked Yomi. "What have you learned so far?"

"Ha! You think I would waste my time studying for a subject as insignificant as English? You are wrong Yomi!" shouted Tomo, shoving a finger in Yomi's face.

Yomi pushed Tomo's hand out of her face.

"What are you going on about? What have you been studying for then? Literature?"

"No, you fool, P.E. of course!"

"P.E.!" shouted Chiyo and Yomi together.

"Gee, Tomo. And just when I was starting to think you couldn't get any more idiotic…" said Yomi shaking her head.

"Whatever, I don't want anyone to be jealous when I get a higher grade on my P.E. test than the rest of you idiots."

"Tomo, do you really think anyone is going to care if you get a higher score…."

Yomi stopped talking when she saw Chiyo get up from her seat and move to a corner of the classroom. She sat down and started to practice her sit-ups.

"Wow, she really is taking this serious…." Started Yomi

"Oh no you don't Chiyo!" shouted Tomo who bolted out of her seat and into another corner and started practicing her own sit-ups.

Yomi just shook her head and stood up as she heard the final school bell ring for the day.

At the end of the day, the five girls started their way home together. The first one to part ways is Osaka, then Sakaki and Chiyo, which left Tomo and Yomi walking together for most of the way. Their houses were fairly close to one another; it had always been that way.

"So Tomo, please tell me you've studied for more than just the P.E. test." inquired Yomi, who was truly concerned.

"Eh. You know me. I studied a little, but I just don't understand it."

"No, you just don't _want_ to understand it."

"What does that mean? Why would I not want to understand something?"

"Hmmm…. that's not exactly what I meant. I meant it as in, you just don't take the time to understand it." Said Yomi

"Ya, well it's too late now, eh?" joked Tomo, but she noticed how the look on Yomi's face was nothing short of concern.

"Well, look at you Yomi-chan!" said Tomo, draping her arm around Yomi's neck, which she was so fond of doing. "You actually care about me!"

"I do not!" retorted Yomi. "I just know that people associate me with you and I don't want to be known as the person with the idiot for a friend!" said Yomi, throwing Tomo's arm off of her neck.

"Sure, sure." Laughed Tomo, "Well since you're so concerned maybe I'll drop by your house tonight for a study session."

"Yeah I guess that would be alright, but would you use my front door for once! Last time you came in through the window you left it open and all kinds of leaves and crap came flying into my room in the middle of the night!"

Tomo burst out laughing. She took off towards the direction of her house.

"Okay I will! That is if I remember!" said Tomo waving bye to Yomi.

Yomi waved back and walked towards her own place.

About two hours later, while Yomi was sitting at her desk studying, she heard a knock at her window.

"Ugh, come in… didn't I tell you to use the door!" said Yomi, clearly agitated.

"Yes, and I thought I said I would if I remembered to. I guess I didn't remember." joked Tomo, grinning as she tumbled from the window straight onto Yomi's bed, knocking her radio, lamp, and a stack of books over in the process.

"Whatever, so what did you need help with exactly?" asked Yomi, starting to pull out all her textbooks.

"I thought I also said that it was too late for me." Said Tomo, sticking her tongue out and picking up the magazine about diets that was laying face down on Yomi's bed.

"Then why did you even bother coming over!" shouted Yomi about to hit Tomo over the head with a textbook.

Tomo dodged the textbook and in return lightly smacked Yomi on the head with the rolled up magazine.

"Geez," started Tomo, shielding herself from retaliation. "Can't I just come visit a good friend?"

Yomi put down her textbook and glared at Tomo.

"Hmm, I guess. Just try not to make too much noise, _I_ am actually trying to study."

Tomo was about to say something but was interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by Yomi's mom entering with two cups of tea.

"Hi girls, I just thought I'd make you two some tea before I went off to bed."

"Wow, thanks Ms. Mizuhara!" said Tomo taking the cup of tea and returning to her spot on the bed.

"Mom, how did you know that Tomo was here?"

"Oh, well I heard a slight crash a while ago and then I heard you yelling, Yomi. I knew it could be none other than the infamous Tomo!" said Yomi's mom, chuckling. "Well, have a good study session girls, and don't stay out too late Tomo. I don't want your parents getting too worried."

"Will do Ms. Mizuhara!" said Tomo, saluting her as if she was taking an order from a general in the military.

Yomi's mom left the room, leaving the two girls sipping their hot tea. Tomo lingered around for a while, just laying on Yomi's bed, reading magazines while Yomi sat at her desk and studied.

Two hours later Yomi announced that she was sleepy, which meant it was time for Tomo to leave.

"Okay!" shouted Tomo. She quickly lifted the blankets on Yomi's bed and slid under.

"Uhhh, what do you think you're doing?" asked Yomi

"Going to sleep, duh"

"Oh, I don't think so! Get your ass out of my bed!" yelled Yomi, getting ready to throw Tomo out the window.

"Okay, okay! I was only joking. I'll see you tomorrow Yomi-chan!" said Tomo as she hopped out of the bed and out of the window in one fluid motion. Well, it would have been fluid if Tomo's foot hadn't caught on the windowsill, causing her to fall onto the unforgiving ground outside.

"Oh God, Tomo are you alright?" asked Yomi, peering out the window.

"Yeah, I just…"

Tomo couldn't get any more words out because Yomi had started laughing hysterically. Tomo started laughing as well as she replayed what had happened from Yomi's view. It was pretty funny. When they finally settled down Tomo bid Yomi a goodnight and took off to her house.

Before she lost sight of Yomi's house, she turned back around and stood there for a moment until she saw Yomi's room light turn off. She was smiling as she walked the rest of the way to her house. When she got inside, she got out her textbooks and studied until her eyes could no longer stay open.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"So, what did you get on your English test today Chiyo?" asked Yomi.

"A hundred!" exclaimed a proud Chiyo-chan, who presented her graded test to Yomi.

"Wow, I only got a ninety-four on mine, but I'm really happy with it."

"Well, that is a very good score Miss Yomi. What about you Miss Sakaki? What did you score?"

"An eighty-eight" replied Sakaki quietly, handing her test over to Chiyo.

"That's really good too Miss Sakaki. And Osaka? What did you get?"

"Oh, ah didn't do too bad, ah got a forty-three." answered Osaka

"Oh, well, that's better than you've done on your past tests right Osaka? Well done!" said Chiyo, giving Osaka a thumbs up.

"Hey Tomo, how did you do?" asked Yomi, who was trying to look over Tomo's shoulder to see the score.

Tomo mumbled something but nobody could understand her.

"Huh?" asked Yomi.

"I got a forty alright! And I actually studied this time! Whatever, at least I got a hundred on my P.E. test! How'd the rest of you all do on that?"

Sakaki matched Tomo's hundred with her own, but Tomo said it didn't count because she didn't even have to try. Yomi showed her ninety-five. Osaka, twenty. And finally Chiyo-chan, eighty-five.

"Aha! I have defeated the great Chiyo-chan!" shouted Tomo, standing up on the chair and raising a balled fist in the air.

Chiyo remained in her seat, her face red with anger, shaking slightly. She did not like to be outdone when it came to grades, and being outdone by Tomo made it that much worse.

"Hey it's alright Chiyo-chan," Sakaki told her, trying to comfort her. "Schools don't… don't really look at P.E. grades anyway."

"They don't?"

"Mm-mm. And besides, you didn't fail the test. You did really good job considering you're just ten years old taking a high school P.E. class."

"I am high school student Chiyo Mihama! It shouldn't matter what age I am!"

Sakaki knew she had hit a sore spot and quickly tried to make better of the situation.

"I-I didn't mean it that way….I-I'm sorry." stuttered Sakaki.

Chiyo looked up and saw the sincere and worried look in Sakaki's face.

"Hey, you know what Miss Sakaki? I see your point, and you're right! And next time I'll be sure to beat Tomo!" said Chiyo, giving her a hug in the process.

A blush formed on Sakaki's face. "Oh, you're welcome."

Yukari was sitting in her chair at the front of desk, her eyes never leaving the clock on the wall. When there were two minutes left before the final school bell, she stood up and addressed the class.

"Alright students of class three. Summer break is two minutes away from officially beginning. When we get back I want to hear everyone's stories about what they did over the break. Unless what you're doing is something better than what I'm doing, then I don't wanna hear a word outta your mouth!"

The bell rang.

"Alright, have a fun summer and stay safe!" Yukari bolted out the door before anyone else and made her way to the teacher's lounge.

She couldn't wait to find out what kind of plans Nyamo had for them this summer break. She loved summer break because that meant that her and Nyamo had lots of time to hang out and do absolutely nothing. Well, they would always be doing _something_, but only because Nyamo hated doing nothing. Yukari would occasionally give into Nyamo, whether she realized it or not.

She opened the door to the almost empty teacher's lounge, where she spotted her best friend

"Oh Nyamoooo!" sang Yukari has she walked through the door of the faculty room.

Nyamo was at her desk, straightening up a few things before she left.

"Hey Yukari. Looks like you're in a good mood."

"Of course I am! It's the start of summer break. What are our plans?"

"_Our_ plans?" asked Nyamo. She knew good and well that she would be spending most of her time with Yukari over the break. Just as it had been since their first summer break together in high school.

"Yes, don't play dumb Nyamo." jested Yukari, leaning back in her chair with a smug look on her face.

"Well, I don't have any plans just yet. I'd suggest that we go out to eat, but we don't get paid until tomorrow, so I guess that's out of the question."

"Oh! Actually, now I remember what we have to do." said Yukari, sitting up suddenly.

"And what would that be?"

"A double date. Two guys I met the other day when I went to the grocery store."

"Really Yukari? I really hate when you do that." Nyamo flicked Yukari's forehead. "You know me. I don't see why you have to go and get some guys' hopes up when you know he doesn't have a chance!"

"Hey, the guy who is my date doesn't have a chance either. I don't go on dates to actually find that special someone, Nyamo." You should know that by now." Said Yukari, flicking Nyamo's forehead in return.

"Oh right, you go out with them because you want a free meal, which you already get from me on a pretty regular basis!"

Nyamo lunged forward to pinch Yukari's face when she interrupted.

"Well, I drag you along too 'cause it kinda feels like I'm paying you back for the times you've paid for my meals."

Nyamo stopped and couldn't help but laugh. It was funny to think that double dates were the way Yukari paid Nyamo back for meals.

When they got up to leave a while later, Yukari was still trying to convince Nyamo to go on the double date with her.

Finally, when they got to the car, Nyamo gave in.

"Alright fine, I'll go. But I hope you know that I only go on these things for you!"

"I know, I know," started a now grinning Yukari. "I'll tell you what. Next time, you set up the double date. That way you can be comfortable for once. Just make sure the chick you find for me is hot!"

Nyamo stared at Yukari for a moment, not sure if she was being serious or not. She decided quickly that it was a joke.

"Ha, yeah okay." Said Nyamo as she drove off.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Let me start off by saying thanks for the reviews i've recieved so far. You guys are great! But keep 'em coming in! Let me know how i'm doing. Second, starting this chapter thoughts will be in _italics_. I'm debating whether or not I should go back and edit previous chapters, but for right now I'm keeping them how they are unless it ends up being too confusing. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 10

It was a couple of days into summer break and Yomi was woken up at seven in the morning by a phone call from Tomo.

"HEY YOMI!" shouted Tomo on the other end of the line.

"Jesus Tomo, do you know what time it is? You don't need to be yelling this early."

"Whoops, I didn't realize. Anyway, I have an awesome idea for what we can do today!"

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"Let's round everyone up and go visit Chiyo-chan!"

"I guess that's not a terrible idea. What time should we meet up?"

"Uhhhm around noon? We'll meet up in front of the train station."

"Alright sounds good to me. We should probably pick up a cake or something to give to her right?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me Yomi-chan!"

"Okay see you then." And with that, Yomi went back to sleep for a few more hours.

On the other side of town, Nyamo was already out and about, running errands for the day. At noon she finished most of what she needed to do for the day and decided she'd drop in on Yukari and see what she was doing.

When she arrived she walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. She waited a few minutes before she decided to ring it again. There was still no answer. 'Oh wow, I can't believe she's still asleep! This is ridiculous!' thought Nyamo.

She started ringing the doorbell repeatedly while pounding on the door. With all of that noise it was only about 30 seconds before Nyamo heard Yukari's voice through the door.

"I'M COMING, I'M COMING ALREADY!"

The door flew open.

Nyamo wanted to scold Yukari right off the bat about still being asleep this late, but the sight of Yukari threw her off guard. She had answered the door in her pajamas, which were extremely disheveled, and she sported a bad case of bed head. _'Oh. She looks so adora…..STOP IT!' _Nyamo thought, mentally kicking herself in the head.

Nyamo looked away quickly.

"What's wrong with you Nyamo? I'm trying to get sleep over here! It is summer break after all!" Yukari started, but she noticed that the gym teacher dropped her gaze. "Ha! You can't even look at me! You know what you have done is wrong!" accused Yukari.

Nyamo looked up and glared at the other woman.

"Damnit Yukari! Go get ready! We're going out today. I don't care what we do, you shouldn't just be sleeping all damn day!

Nyamo continued shouting at Yukari, pushing her into the house and towards the bathroom.

"Fine, fine! I'll be ready in fifteen."

Nyamo sighed and sat down, putting her hands in her face. She stayed like that until Yukari came out fully dressed and ready to go.

"Well, well. Look who's sleeping now. And in the middle of the day. Shame on you Nyamo!" said Yukari wagging her finger at her.

"Ugh, come on. Let's go. I need to go find a new swimsuit. You could probably use one too since it is summer and all."

"Oh Nyamo, if all you wanted to do today was see me in a bathing suit you coulda asked." joked Yukari, winking at Nyamo.

Nyamo growled in response and made her way out the door and to her car.

Meanwhile, back on the opposite side of town, Tomo, Yomi, Osaka, and Sakaki had successfully made their way to Chiyo's house. They were sitting around a table in Chiyo's room discussing what their plans were for summer break.

"So, what are you guys' going to do for the break?" asked Chiyo cheerfully.

"Nothing. I'm broke, so I'll probably just spend my time at home playing video games, or at Yomi's house bugging her." answered Tomo, smirking at Yomi.

"Yeah I'm broke too," said Yomi, ignoring the last statement Tomo made.

"Oh hmm… well would you guys like to come to my summer house? We could all go up there next week for a few days if you'd like?" asked Chiyo.

"YEEEEEAH! SUMMER HOUSE!" shouted Tomo hopping on top of the table.

Yomi yanked her back down. "Sure Chiyo-chan! That sounds like a lot of fun."

"Okay! We should probably start making a list of things we need like food and…."

"SWIMSUITS!" interrupted Tomo. "We all need new swimsuits!"

"How would you know that we all need new swimsuits Tomo?" asked Yomi "I happen to really like the one I bought last year, and plan to use it again this year."

"Well, I'm sure Sakaki will need at least need a new top with the way she's been growing lately," teased Tomo "and with the weight you've gained since last year, you'll definitely need to go buy a whole new one Yomi!"

Sakaki blushed furiously.

Yomi responded with a double chop to Tomo's head.

"Well now that you mention it Tomo, I actually do need a new swimsuit." Said Chiyo. "Should we go shopping today to find some?"

"WAHOO! Shopping! Shopping! Shopping!" said Tomo, dancing around the room.

"Dang Tomo. You're like, super extra hyper today." pointed out Osaka.

"That's because she ate all the cake we were _supposed_ to give to Chiyo-chan." Yomi stated.

The girls made their way to the train station and took off for the closest mall. Tomo was leading them the whole way. Marching, as if she were the leader of a parade.

Meanwhile.

"Yukari are you done yet?" asked Nyamo who was growing impatient outside the fitting room.

Nyamo had already chosen two swimsuits. One was a blue one piece that she could use for school, and the other was a blue two-piece, that she could use outside of work. Lots of clothes she picked out now were blue because Yukari let it slip a few years back that she thought Nyamo looked good in blue.

Nyamo tapped on the door.

She was now having to wait for Yukari who had taken a bundle of swimsuits to try on into the fitting room.

"Hold your horses! I have to find an awesome one that shows off my womanly curves!"

Nyamo sighed. _'I'm not sure if I should be exposed to your "womanly curves"'_ she thought.

"Alright! Found the perfect one!"

Nyamo heard the click of the door unlocking. Before she could react, Yukari whipped the door open.

"So. Whadya think?"

Once Nyamo caught sight of Yukari, she could not will herself to look away.

'Wow.' Thought Nyamo, her eyes raking over Yukari.

Of course she'd seen Yukari in a swimsuit before, and she always made a mental note on how good Yukari looked, but she'd push the thought away as quick as it entered her mind.

However, this time, was different.

Maybe it was because the color of the suit brought out the brightness of Yukari's chocolate brown eyes. Or maybe it was the style of it, which Nyamo thought was a perfect fit for Yukari. But even still, with all the other contributing factors, Nyamo knew, at this moment, she lost control of her feelings. Whatever was in her mind that told her to 'stop' and 'forget about it' drifted away, and left Nyamo with nothing but the love she felt for her best friend coursing through her body.

Nyamo was thrust back into reality by Yukari's voice.

"I'm assuming your stunned silence means that I've found the perfect swimsuit" teased Yukari, putting a hand on her hip.

Nyamo looked away quickly, too embarrassed to notice the blush that covered Yukari head to toe.

"Y-yeah. That's a real good one." Stammered Nyamo, ruffling the hair on the back of her head nervously.

There was another silence between the two women, Nyamo still looking away, and Yukari studying Nyamo.

"Well look who it is!"

The outburst caused both Yukari and Nyamo to jump. Nyamo turned around and saw Tomo standing behind her, holding a few selections of swimsuits.

"Damn Yukari! Lookin' good!" commented Tomo, giving her a thumbs up.

"Oh stop it… you really think so? asked Yukari, striking a pose.

"Oh! Hi Ms. Yukari, Ms. Kurosawa" greeted Chiyo, who entered the fitting room right behind Tomo. "Shopping for swimsuits as well. That's why we're all here too!"

"Oh the whole gang is here then?" asked Nyamo, extremely relieved by the interruption.

Right on cue, Yomi, Osaka, and Sakaki walked into the fitting room, each with a few swimsuits to try on.

"Hey everybody! Are you all doing something together for the break?" Nyamo asked.

"Why, yes!" announced Chiyo, "I've invited everyone to my summmghghg…"

Tomo quickly put her hand over Chiyo's mouth.

"Oh nothing, we just plan to lounge about. Well we'll see you guys at the start up of school! Bye!"

Tomo turned around and dragged Chiyo along with her.

"Oh no you don't Tomo! It sounded like Chiyo-chan was about to invite us along wherever you all are going! I accept your invite Chiyo! And so does Nyamo!" shouted Yukari.

Nyamo started to protest but was interrupted by Chiyo, who was able to get out of Tomo's grasp with Sakaki's help.

"Great! We're all going to my summerhouse next week. My parents said we needed to have adult supervision anyway." Added Chiyo when she saw the face that Tomo was making at her.

"Plus, you two can drive us over so we don't have to get stuck on the train."

Tomo seemed to like the sound of that and settled down.

"Sure we can!" said Yukari. "My parents will let me borrow their car, and Nyamo has her own."

"Okay! Here's my number Ms. Yukari! And for you Ms. Kurosawa! I'll give you a call with more details. We'll see you then!"

The girls scattered into different changing rooms and Yukari went back into hers to change out of the swimsuit she decided on.

Nyamo put her head in her hand and sighed, smiling slightly, excited about her new summer plans.

'_These girls have no idea what they're getting themselves into.'_ She chuckled slightly before she recalled what happened a moment ago in the fitting room.

_'Hell, I don't know what I'm getting myself into.'_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Before I continue posting more chapters, I'd like to stop and thank RunsWithBulls. She's been a big help with MyAzuStory. So, thank you!**

**Oh, and I don't own Azumanga or it's characters. **

**Please, read and review!**

Chapter 11

The days leading up to the trip to Chiyo's summerhouse were excruciatingly slow for everyone. The anticipation of going to the beach with friends was almost too much to handle, but today was finally the day of the trip and everyone was excited.

"Is everyone here?" asked Chiyo, counting the girls standing around her. "Five..Six.. ..Seven. Alright, let's go! Who is going in Ms. Yukari's car and who in Ms. Kurosawa's?"

"Uhm, Ms. Yukari. What happened to yer car?" asked Osaka.

"Huh? Oh. Those are just some dents and scratches. Gives it character don't you think!"

"Uh, well…" started Nyamo "I think it'd be best if I took three in my car and two can go with Yukari."

"But Ms. Kurosawa, Ms. Yukari's car is bigger. Why doesn't she take three?"

"The less fatalities the better." Nyamo stated bluntly.

The girls quickly partook in a game of rock, paper, and scissors.

Chiyo and Osaka lost.

When they arrived at the beach house the occupants of Ms. Kurosawa's car went to check on Osaka and Chiyo.

Both girls were paler than paper, both muttering words that made no sense. Yomi and Sakaki were trying to calm them down.

Tomo, on the other hand, burst out laughing, insisting that she get to ride in the newly dubbed 'Yukarimobile' on the way home.

When Chiyo finally gathered her bearings, she let everyone into the house. The girls admired how nice it was, but were immediately ready for some beach action.

"Alright! Everyone get changed, then we'll head down to the beach" announced Nyamo.

"YEAH!" shouted Tomo as she bolted upstairs.

She was ready in no more than five seconds.

"Wow! How'd ya go and do that Tomo?" asked an amazed Osaka.

"Well you see, I have this magical power…"

"Don't listen to her Osaka" interrupted Yomi, making her way upstairs to change.

Soon everyone was ready and were led down to the beach by Chiyo.

"Ahhh perfect beach weather." announced Osaka.

"Mhmm." agreed Chiyo. "What should we do first?"

"WATERMELON SMASHING!" yelled Tomo holding the large fruit above her head.

"Oh, and how do you think you're going to smash that? We don't have a bat. " stated Yomi.

"What?" asked an appalled Tomo. However, the set back didn't stave off the wildcat's enthusiasm for long. "Well, I'll just use my hand!"

Tomo blindfolded herself and threw the watermelon down and began to repeatedly chop at it for several minutes. She finally came in contact with something, but it wasn't the watermelon. Her hand came smashing down onto a rock that was beside it.

"Shit! Owww!"

Yomi, who was the only one left witnessing the spectacle, came to Tomo's aid.

"Ah. That looked pretty bad. Let me see." she said, taking Tomo's hand.

"Ow, ow! It hurts!"

"Well that's what you get for acting like a moron!"

Yomi manipulated Tomo's hand a bit, stretching it out, bending fingers, rotating it, and ended her examination by lightly massaging it.

"It's not that bad. Nothing broken. You'll probably just get a bruise."

"Are you sure?" asked Tomo.

"Yeah, yeah. Now come on. Let's enjoy the beach." finished Yomi, dropping Tomo's hand.

The two girls made their way to where the rest of the group was.

The time at the beach consisted mostly of Sakaki making animal figures in the sand, Osaka and Chiyo swimming in the ocean, Tomo chasing Yomi around with clumps of nasty looking seaweed, and Nyamo and Yukari, laying out in the sun, having occasional arguments about nothing in particular.

The sun was starting to set when the girls decided to head back to the house.

Upon arrival, Tomo was already ready for the next event.

"So, what now?" she asked excitedly, jumping up and down.

"Oh ah know!" started Osaka. "Ya can't have a proper summer night without horror stories!"

"Okay, but do you have any?" Yomi asked doubtfully.

"Uhhhhm….ahhhh…"

All the girls leaned forward in their seats, preparing for Osaka's story.

"Nah can't say that ah do."

Everyone groaned.

"I have one!" announced Chiyo.

She started telling a story of another summerhouse that had a pest infestation when Tomo cut in.

"No, no, no! Now is not the time for horror stories! There are adults here!" Tomo pointed at the two teachers in the room. "Now is the time to hear dirty adult stories. Yukari? How about you go first!"

Yukari was thrown off by the sudden outburst from Tomo and even more thrown off by the question. She looked at the table full of girls who all had their attention on her, except for Chiyo, who was covering her ears.

"Uh, well. To be honest, it's not so bad being a single woman."

There was a collective sigh among the girls.

"Okay, I guess. How about you Nyamo? We'd love to hear some of your experiences and stories." asked Tomo, averting the attention from Yukari to Nyamo

Yukari snickered, making it obvious to Tomo that Nyamo did have a story or two. Tomo looked at Yukari with questioning eyes.

Nyamo turned a deep crimson from both embarrassment and anger. She glared at Yukari before answering.

"S-sorry girls. Can't say that I have any stories either. I'd have to agree with Yukari when she says that being single isn't bad."

"You weren't single last summer…" Yukari mumbled into her drink.

Nyamo's eyes shot open and now all the girls around the table were staring at her with open mouths and admiration in their eyes. They all started talking at the same time.

"Whoa! What did you do? How was it? Stories, now!"

"Did you go on any romantic dates? To any good restaurants?"

"Where did you meet?"

"I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out. How long did you date?"

"Who was the lucky girl?"

The table went quiet. All attention was now on Osaka, who had asked the last question. The girl continued to look at Nyamo, waiting for an answer. The remaining girls slowly turned their head back to Nyamo.

"ROACH!"

Four of the five high school girls screamed and took off in different directions, while Tomo eagerly hunted down the insect, following Yukari's orders.

"IT JUST WENT BEHIND THE COUCH! WAIT, NOW IT'S IN THE KITCHEN. AHHHH IT'S FLYING RIGHT AT YOUR HEAD!"

The whole time this was going on, Nyamo sat and stared at Yukari with an extremely confused look on her face. _What the hell. I didn't even see a roach. I still don't see one._

After ten minutes of chasing around an invisible roach, Tomo was dead tired, laying down, panting on the floor.

"I think you scared it away Tomo. Good job!" Yukari announced to the girls that the problem had been taken care of.

"Alright, I think everyone's had enough fun for one night. It's time we hit the sack." said Nyamo, shooing everyone up the stairs.

All the girls nodded in agreement and headed for their rooms. Not even Tomo, who was exhausted from her 'heroic' actions, put up a fight.

Once all the girls were out of earshot, Nyamo spoke up.

"What the hell was that?"

"What the hell was what?" responded Yukari casually, sitting back down on the couch and taking a drink of her juice.

"That whole roach incident you just made up."

"Oh that. Would you have rather I not made it up? I just saved you from the unforgiving questions of teenage girls." Yukari smirked at Nyamo. "I'd think you'd be a little more grateful."

Nyamo replayed the scene in her head. Osaka's question, the shock and surprise on the girls' faces, then Yukari's distracting outburst. Yukari did save her; protected her, just like old times.

Nyamo was still flustered from the event, so she hoped that Yukari hadn't noticed the blush that was growing on her already heated face.

"I suppose you do deserve a thanks….but you were the one that caused the whole fiasco! You shouldn't have said anything about last summer!"

Yukari laughed. "Well, honestly I thought it would be funny to put you on the spot like that. It's not like I was gonna say anything specific. I figured you'd just cover up for yourself, making up some story about a non-existent guy. That Osaka gal though…" Yukari started laughing again.

"I'm sorry but I'm not finding it as funny as you are. How do you think she…."

"I don't know, she honestly is a weird one. Tends to focus only on the things others overlook."

"I guess. I can definitely see that. Hopefully the girls will just forget about it."

"Psh, doubt that. They're probably all discussing it right now."

Nyamo paled.

"Hey, c'mon. They're a good group of kids. I know they won't care. Osaka obviously doesn't." Yukari snickered. "And I wouldn't be surprised if Tomo and Yomi weren't totally into each other to be honest with you."

"You shouldn't be talking about your students like that."

"I'll take that as you agreeing with me."

Nyamo gave Yukari a look. She was in no mood for jokes.

"Look, I'm sorry that I even mentioned the whole summer fling thing, but I'm telling you, you have nothing to worry about."

Yukari reached for Nyamo's hand to give her a reassuring pat.

Nyamo stood quickly.

"Well thanks again, but I think I'm going to call it a night. See you in the morning!"

Nyamo hurried upstairs, leaving Yukari on the couch staring after her, taking a long chug from her drink.

Upstairs behind a closed door, the girls were getting settled into their sleeping bags, ready for some well-needed sleep.

Chiyo was already asleep, and Osaka was drifting off when Tomo started talking.

"Wow, so who else knew about Nyamo? Anyone?"

"Nope." answered Yomi. Sakaki shook her head in agreement.

"Ah did…" announced a half asleep Osaka.

"We know you did! You're the one that called it out!" Tomo slapped Osaka on the back before making her way to her sleeping bag. "That was brilliant! You know, I always kinda had a feeling about our Nyamo…"

"Really now?" asked Yomi. "And how so?"

"Hmmm…. I can't really say. But I can say one thing for sure… now that I know about Nyamo for sure…. her and Yukari totally have something going on!"

"What! No way!" said Yomi

Sakaki blushed and then laid down. She was too tired and shy to hear the rest of what Tomo had to say.

"Yep, think about it, they've been friends for a long time, Nyamo puts up with all of Yukari's antics, and they fight and argue like an old married couple…." Tomo was naming more reasons for why Yukari and Nyamo were supposedly together, but her talking eventually ceased as she fell asleep.

"Sounds like you and Tomo."

Yomi turned around to Osaka, who was fully asleep, but somehow still capable of putting in her last two cents.

"What the heck…" started Yomi._ It's true, Tomo and I do fight a lot, and have been friends for a long time….but it's not the same. Is it? Wait, what am I saying? Besides, Yukari and Nyamo aren't even together. That's just another one of Tomo's wacky theories. Yeah, that's it._

Yomi laid down and slowly drifted off to sleep with the rest of the girls; the events of the current day already forgotten while dreams of what the next days were going to hold for them played in their heads.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The days of summer break went by much faster than everyone had expected and wanted; today was the first day back since the break.

"I have pictures!" shouted Tomo, handing the four other girls copies of them. She then went around the room and showed off her pictures to the others in the class.

Her bragging was cut short by Yukari's rather boisterous entrance.

"STUDENTS OF CLASS 3! I know you all want to trade stories about your fantaaaastic summer, but now is not the time!"

Yukari turned around and wrote the words SPORTS FEST in large letters on the blackboard behind her.

"The sports fest is upon us. In a matter of days, the strength of our class will be put to the test!"

"We will not fail you, Yukari!" shouted Tomo, standing on her chair with her hands on her hips and her chest puffed out.

"You better not! I have ten thousand Yen on the line!"

The class groaned.

"Hey, hey! If we win, you should buy us juice!"

Yukari calculated the cost in her head.

"Deal!"

A few days passed by and before the student's knew it, it was time for the sports fest.

Yukari sauntered up to Nyamo.

"Ready to lose Nyamo?"

Nyamo laughed.

"I don't think so. We have a pretty good chance of taking first place."

"Yeah right! Need I remind you….We have Sakaki!"

"Well, we have a contender of our own!"

"What? Who? That's cheating!"

"Eh?"

Yukari bolted off to find this mystery person.

"Hey you there! You kid!"

"Uhm, I've been in your homeroom since the start of the school year… my name is…"

"Yeah, yeah. Who's the student in Nyamo's class who is really good at athletics?"

"Oh uhm, I guess that would have to be Kagura."

At the moment, Kagura was on the blacktop, preparing for the festival. As she was doing her routine stretches, she was also sizing up her competition.

_Let's see. Coach told me to keep an eye out for class 3. There's the little one, but I'm sure she won't be any kind of problem. Same goes for that spaced out girl over there… what is she looking at? Hmm, that girl with the glasses looks like she could put up a good fight, but at the same time I don't think I've ever seen her practicing. Maybe coach wanted me to watch out for the shorthaired girl on her back. She does look to have a lot of energy, but if she doesn't calm down soon, she'll be tired out before the races even start. I wonder who coach was talking…."_

"Hey there Kagura!"

Kagura turned around to Yukari who was trying her best to keep an evil grin off her face.

"Huh?"

"I just wanted to come over and make a peace offering. You want this red bean paste bun?"

"Uhh…"

"YUKARI!"

Nyamo stormed toward her friend, her hand balled into a fist.

"Ahhh! She's gonna hit me! I think her top student should be disqualified for it!"

"Just leave Yukari. Go give a pep talk to your students or something!"

Yukari stormed off, muttering curse words in English, upset that her plan was foiled.

"Uhm, coach…What was that?"

"That's Yukari, class 3's teacher."

"She wants to win that bad?"

"Mhmm."

"Oh. Speaking of class 3, I don't really see anyone that would be any kind of threat…"

"Well, the person I was talking about would be Miss Sa…"

"FIRST PLACE!"

Mr. Kimura, the chairman of the sports fest gave his 'speech', which signaled the start of the fest.

As the festival took place, each class was giving their best to try and win first place. However, the competition between class 3 and 5 could not be matched. There were only two events left and class 3 was only a few points away from taking first place.

"Okay!" started Yukari. "The last two events are the 100m dash and relay race!"

"What's the plan, Yukari?" asked Tomo, jumping up and down.

"SAKAKI!" answered Yukari, pointing at the tall, quiet girl.

"That's the plan?" asked Yomi, dumbfounded.

"Yes! Sakaki, get over here!"

Sakaki slowly made her way to Yukari, a blush forming on her face from being called to the center of attention.

"Alright Sakaki. The fate of this class rests in your hands. You must beat… everyone! Especially that Kagura girl!"

Yukari pointed to a girl that Sakaki hadn't seen before. The girl's back was facing them, so Sakaki still couldn't see what she looked like.

The bell signaled the next event so Sakaki made her way down to the starting line.

A few girls down from her, Kagura was already in the start position, head down and ready for the sound of the gun.

There was a loud crack, and she took off.

_Oh yeah, I have this in bag… wait who… wha?_

Someone had made their way up to, and was starting to pass Kagura.

She turned her head slightly to get a look at who it was, but the girl took off at full speed. All she could see was a blur of long black hair.

Kagura tried to keep up but failed. She was exhausted when she reached the finish line in second place.

She was breathing hard when Nyamo walked up to her with a cup of water.

"Here you go," said Nyamo, handing her the cup. "You put up a good fight."

"C-coach. Who was that?"

"That's Miss Sakaki. She's the one I was trying to tell you to look out for in class 3."

Kagura watched the girl give the child prodigy a high five before sitting under a tree to rest.

Kagura was in a trance when Nyamo made a noise.

"Uhh… Kagura? You alright?"

"Y-yeah coach. I'm fine!"

"Alright good. The next event is the relay. You're going to be our anchor, and I'm sure Sakaki will be theirs. So you think you're ready for another tough battle?" asked Nyamo, putting her hand on Kagura's shoulder.

Kagura suddenly felt pumped up.

"Yeah coach! I'll give it my all!" Kagura threw her fist in the air. "We'll win for sure!"

_I don't know who this Sakaki girl is, but she's going down. No holding back this time!_

Kagura stood on the sidelines, watching the students of her class and class 3 battle in out on the track. Bu the time it was her turn to grab the baton, class 3 was way behind on account of the child prodigy.

_Alright here we go. There is no way she catch up to me now._

Only a couple seconds had passed before Kagura saw the taller girl out of the corner of her eye.

_No! Not again!_

Kagura pushed herself beyond what she had before and was this time able to keep pace with the other girl. It wasn't until the last stretch that she fell behind and could do nothing but watch as Sakaki ran through the finish line in first place.

Kagura was doubled over and breathing hard when Nyamo approached her, this time with a can of juice.

"Wow Kagura. I've never seen you push yourself that hard. It was impressive."

"But, I lost coach."

"Well… yeah, but you put up one heck of a fight. You were able to keep up with Miss Sakaki. That alone is impressive. She would be a really good athelete if she actually showed some interest in it."

"W-wait. So you're saying that she doesn't practice or participate in any sports?"

Nyamo shook her head.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nope" replied Nyamo. Chuckling softly at the amazement in Kagura's voice.

_Wow._ Kagura looked over at Sakaki. She was crowded around by her cheering classmates

Kagura couldn't keep her eyes off the girl. She was so lost, that she didn't hear Nyamo trying to get her attention.

"Kagura? Kagura…Kagura!"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry coach. J-just tired from the race."

"Oh, okay. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah! I'm great!" said Kagura, finally tearing her eyes away from Sakaki for a second to answer Nyamo properly.

"Okay good. Are you going to participate in the final dance?"

"Uhm… well it's not really my thing…"

Kagura suddenly stopped talking when she spotted Sakaki making her way over to the blacktop for the dance. She then noticed how the taller girl got put on the boy's side. Kagura could only guess it was because of her height. She hurried towards the line of girls leaving Nyamo staring after her, confused as to what had her star athlete acting so strange. She hurried off herself however when she saw Yukari making her way towards her to boast about winning.

Kagura decided this would be the perfect opportunity to talk to Sakaki. She had never seen, let alone met this girl before, yet she knew that she had to hear her voice.

Kagura slowly made her way closer to her objective, getting more and more nervous.

_Calm down Kagura. What's wrong with you. Just talk to her. Ask her what her secret is. _Kagura turned her head to get another look at the girl. _Wow, she's really tall. Her legs are so long. That's probably how she's able to run so fast. _

Kagura was now one boy away from Sakaki.

_Okay, here she comes…_

Just as she was about to switch off and come in contact with the girl she so desperately wanted to meet, the music ended. It was announced that the sports fest come to an end and student could now go home and enjoy their weekend.

She turned around only to see Sakaki and her friends making her way towards the school building to go home for the day. Kagura slumped her shoulders and headed off towards her class, unknown to why she was so sad about not getting to speak to Sakaki.

At the end of the day, as Nyamo was walking to her car, Yukari blew past her in a sprint and wildly started pulling at the passenger car door.

"Jesus, Nyamo…Hurry up!"

"What are you in such a rush for?" asked Nyamo, not making an effort to move any faster.

"I promised the class juice because I THOUGHT I was gonna get paid. I forgot I owed you ten thousand yen."

"Yeah well, you should thought about it before you made that bet with me." Said Nyamo, smirking at her friend.

Yukari's mouth dropped after realizing what Nyamo did. "You cheated me! You knew either way you were gonna end up with money!"

Nyamo chuckled as she unlocked the car door.

"You should take me out to dinner at least!" proclaimed Yukari.

"What? Why?"

"I DID win."

"YOU did nothing but stand and watch your class win for you. We shouldn't even have made that stupid bet. It was immoral."

"Oh immoral shmmoral. Are you gonna take me or not?" asked a pouting Yukari.

"Fine. But Yukari. You have to promise me you won't get completely drunk."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Of course."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Ugh, not again_

Nyamo woke up to bright light filtering into the room, which wasn't helping the already pounding headache she had.

_Damn Yukari, this is the last time…_Nyamo sat up and looked at the empty room. _At least I got to sleep in my bed this time; I wonder what happened to Yukari. _

Nyamo's question was answered by a moan behind her. She turned around and almost fell out of bed when she saw Yukari fast asleep right next to her.

She quickly got out of bed and moved to the kitchen. _Did something…No. No… I remember now. We got drunk and she made a bet for who got to sleep on the bed. Although, I'm pretty sure she lost…_

The doorbell interrupted her thoughts.

"Aagh! Shut that thing up!" shouted Yukari from the bed.

Nyamo shook her head as he went to open the door.

"Hello ma'am, I have a package here for you from a Mrs. Kurosawa.

She thanked the messenger and took the brown envelope inside.

_I wonder what it could be…_

Nyamo opened the envelope and slumped onto the couch behind her. At that exact moment her phone rang.

"Kurosawa residence…Oh hi Mom"

….

"Y-yeah I got it. How did you know it just got here?"

…

"T-that's weird Mom."

….

"What do I think? Mom, it's an arranged marriage…"

…

"Well no, I haven't gone out with any nice guys lately…"

…

"Yeah, I guess he seems nice, it's just, I'm not…. I don't like… Isn't it too soon?"

…

"I know I'm not getting any younger Mother."

…

"I don't know…"

…

"Fine, I-I'll give him a call. I'm not making any promises though!"

…

"Okay."

…

"Okay."

…

"Okay!"

…

"I love you too. Bye."

Nyamo hung up the phone. She sat still and silent as she studied the picture of the man.

_I'm not getting any younger._

Nyamo turned around and sighed as she looked at her friend who was still fast asleep on her bed. She started to recall that day, back when the two women were in college.

_Nyamo was sitting in her dorm room at college with a tie around her neck, head hung in defeat. She had been tirelessly trying to tie the damned thing for two hours. _

_About a month ago she started seeing a guy from her health class. She was tired of her mom badgering her about finding a boyfriend, and even though she showed no interest in men, she decided that maybe she should go ahead and give it a try. _

_Till this day, she had successfully hidden her relationship from Yukari. Knowing her best friend, she figured Yukari would be jealous that Nyamo had found a boyfriend first and would try and wreck the relationship. _

_However, on this day, Nyamo forgot to lock the door to her dorm room. She also forgot that Yukari was not one to knock. _

"_Nyamo," started Yukari as she barged through the door. "My English professor is so stupid! I know way more than…. What are you doing?"_

"_P-practicing tying ties."_

"_Why?" asked Yukari, her face showing nothing but confusion. "Oh! Are you dating one of those butch-y girls? I always figured you to be the guy in the relationship." Said Yukari, laughing. _

_Nyamo glared at Yukari, her face turning a deep shade of red. She had no choice but to tell her. _

"_Uhm, n-no. Actually, I'm seeing this guy in my health class and he wears ties all the time…"_

"_Wait… what? You're dating a guy?" _

_The lack of immediate rage surprised Nyamo. She was expecting shouts, pouts, and angry fist shaking, not confusion. _

"_Why…..who? What for?" Yukari couldn't seem to find the right words. She kept her gaze on the wall behind Nyamo, as if it would give her the words she was looking for. _

"_Well, my mom kept insisting that I find a boyfriend so I asked…."_

"_Your mom? Boyfriend?" asked Yukari, snapping out of the confusion she was in. _

_There it was, the anger that Nyamo was expecting came through on Yukari's face. _

"_I can't believe you didn't tell me! How long has this been going on for? What are you think….."_

"_Yukari," interrupted Nyamo, "I'm sorry that I kept it a secret from you, and I guess I'm sorry that I found a boyfriend before you…"_

"_You think THAT is why I'm mad?"_

_It was Nyamo's turn to be confused. _

"_Well, yeah. We had a bet for a dinner…"_

"_Oh yeah. By the way, this relationship you have right now doesn't count!"_

"_Why not?" asked Nyamo who was starting to get mad._

_Her anger quickly died as Yukari rounded on her. _

"_Because you don't like men, Nyamo! I thought you've come to terms with this already! What's going on in that head of yours?" Yukari started pacing back and forth. "Have you ever even done anything more than hold hands with this guy? Or, better question, do you even WANT to do anything more?"_

_Nyamo looked down at her feet. _

"_Didn't think so."_

"_I just wanted to do it for my mom…"_

"_Damn it Nyamo! You need to stop being such a pushover. This isn't you, and you know it. Start doing things for yourself. You deserve to be happy!"_

_And with that Yukari turned around and walked out the dorm room. Nyamo could only guess it was because Yukari was not used to displaying such emotions. It certainly took her by surprise. She stared after Yukari, open-mouthed. _

_A minute later she came out of her stupor, her head clearer than it had been in months. She stood up and went after her friend, throwing the tie off in the process. Nyamo figured Yukari deserved a dinner and a round at the bar. _

Nyamo tore her eyes away from Yukari and looked back down at the picture. _I can't tell her about this. She'd be furious to know I'm actually considering it."_

Nyamo scratched her head nervously as she made her way to her bedside table. She opened the drawer and placed the picture and information inside.

She peered over at Yukari, an evil grin forming on her face. A loud bang filled the air as she slammed the drawer shut as hard as she could.

The next several minutes contained two full grown women engaging in a vicious face pinching war, mixed with screams and shouts that could be heard throughout the entire apartment complex.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Yomi was putting on her school shoes when she heard a loud crash down the hallway. She looked up and to her surprise someone in a cat suit was running towards her at full speed.

"Yoooommmiiii!"

Yomi backed up against the shelves, trapped between them and the giant cat charging at her.

"Yomi-chan! Uhmph!"

The human sized cat came crashing into Yomi, knocking her over in the process.

"Ugh, Tomo what the hell?"

Tomo took the cathead off and looked down at Yomi.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Because no one but you would do something as idiotic as this!"

"I'm no idiot!" proclaimed Tomo, still atop Yomi. She then grinned and leaned into Yomi

Yomi was suddenly very aware of the fact that Tomo was straddling her waist. While she hadn't given it much thought, she still couldn't get the words Osaka muttered at the beach house out of her head.

She blushed a deep red and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to rid the words from her head.

"Tomo. Get. OFF!"

Yomi heaved Tomo off of her in one swift move.

"Wah!" yelled Tomo as she fell a few feet in front of Yomi. "You coulda just asked me to get off!"

"Yeah well, you were getting heavy."

"Ha! Look who's talking!" shouted Tomo, who then proceeded to slap Yomi's backside.

Yomi jumped about five feet in the air. She turned around, more enraged than embarrassed that Tomo would do something so outrageous. Before she could react the wildcat took off in a mad dash.

Yomi couldn't move.

_What. The hell. Was that?_

Yomi quickly made her way to the classroom. She needed find out why Tomo was acting stranger than usual. When she got there she noted how the room was all ready for the culture fest. She found a spot near the door and waited for Tomo to arrive.

A few minutes later the giant cat came walking in.

Yomi grabbed the cat by the arm and dragged her over to a corner of the room.

"Tomo what the hell is wrong with you today?"

"Yom….

"No, listen. You need to calm down. It's one thing to run around the school in a giant cat costume like an idiot, but being on top of me like that… and groping me… well, that's just taking things too far."

The oversized cat said nothing.

"Well? Don't you have anything to say?"

"Yeah ah sure do," replied a southern accent from within the catsuit.

Yomi gasped, horrified to see Osaka taking the cat head off.

_Tomo must have switched with her outside the classroom. That little…._

"Nice going Yomi!"

Yomi looked at the person who just walked in behind the cat. It was Tomo, who was now doubled over, laughing hysterically, apparently having heard most of the conversation.

Yomi's shocked gaze went back to Osaka, who herself was giggling and blushing slightly.

"Osaka! I'm so sorry! I thought…. I thought you were Tomo!"

"Oh its alright, Yomi. I know what girlfriends do together, you two are no secret after all."

"Miss Osaka!" called Chiyo from a distance, "Can you come help me with this?"

"Sure thing Chiyo-chan!" Osaka looked back at Yomi who now stood frigid with Tomo's arm around her neck. "Alright, you two behave now."

Yomi stood there, unable to get a word out.

_Girlfriends? _Yomi shook her head. _No. No. She didn't mean it like that. She couldn't have. _

Yomi ducked out of Tomo's grasp and sat down at her desk. She took off her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose.

_What is wrong with her today? That was too strange, even by Tomo's standards. _

Yomi slid her glasses back on her face, determined to make the rest of the culture fest run as smooth as possible.

Throughout the day, she tried her best to stay as far away from Tomo as possible. She busied herself with Sakaki, trying to make sure everything was perfect. Of course, Yomi quickly got bored with the stuffed animals and decided to give the cat costume a try to advertise for the class.

She was standing outside the classroom, successfully attracting people to their classroom, when Tomo appeared beside her. Yomi tensed, but was relieved from the large crowd walking towards them. It would give her a chance to stay busy, hopefully deterring Tomo from trying anything. After a few minutues, the crowd started to die down, allowing Yomi moment to relax.

The moment didn't last long when Tomo snaked her arm around Yomi and stood on her toes, bringing her face as close to Yomi's as possible with the cat mask over her head.

"You know Yomi, you look damn cute in that costume, I think we should take it and…."

Yomi couldn't handle it anymore. She brushed past Tomo, not allowing her to finish whatever she was saying. She took off the costume and threw it on a desk.

She sat down and sighed in frustration. She put her head down and went to sleep for the rest of the festival.

It seemed like forever until the final school bell rang.

Yomi rushed out of the classroom, eager to get home and away from school. This earned lots of complaints from Chiyo, who was upset at Yomi for leaving without helping clean up.

When Yomi got home she took a long bath and went straight to her homework. She needed to keep her mind occupied in order to keep her from replaying the events of the day. She was just about finished when she heard a knock at her window.

_Oh no. Maybe if I stay quiet, she'll go away. _

"Yomiii! Yomi. Yomi. Yomi! I know you're in there!"

"Ugh. Whatever!"

Tomo slid the window open and hopped in, landing clumsily on Yomi's bed.

"What do you want Tomo?" asked Yomi, sounding a bit more harsh than she wanted to.

"What do you mean what do I want? I know you look forward to my night time visits." said Tomo winking in the process.

Before Yomi could say something, Tomo started up again.

"Well, tonight I actually wanted to come and make sure you were alright more than anything. You were acting kind of strange at school today. How come?"

Yomi stared at Tomo, mouth agape.

"You mean to tell me you didn't think anything was strange today?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary babe!"

"THAT! THAT RIGHT THERE!"

"W-wha?"

"All day today, you were being…being…. weird! First, you practically lay on top of me in the hallway, then you grope me and proceed tell me I'm cute and had plans to do who knows what with that cat costume! Now you're here, actually showing concern for me, and calling me babe!"

"Uhm, Yomi…"

"ALSO!" said Yomi, raising her finger to signal she had one last point. "Osaka called me your girlfriend today. Why? What have you been telling people?"

"Yomi, are you sure you're alright? Maybe you should lay down…"

There was a trace of seriousness to Tomo's voice, but the mischievous grin growing on her face hinted that Tomo wanted Yomi to lie down for other reasons than to just feel better.

"No! Stop that!"

"Okay, okay I'm sorry. I guess I got a little carried away today. I forgot you told me I needed to tone it down a bit in public. You just looked so cute today…."

"Tone it down? C-cute?"

"Yeah. Ya know? No PDA you said." Tomo stuck her tongue out in disagreement. "I hope you know you're the only one I'd tone it down for."

Tomo got up from the bed, a grin still plastered across her face.

Yomi wanted to protest, wanted to ask question after question, but couldn't get a word out as Tomo inched her way closer.

Soon Tomo was almost perched on Yomi's lap, she could feel her breath against her face.

"Yomiiii…..Yomi….Koyomi!"

Yomi woke with a start, sweating and clinging onto her pillow.

"Yomi! Wake up! Happy New Year!"

Yomi sat up and looked around her room. Her mom stood in front of her drawing the shades open.

"I don't want you to be late in meeting your friends at the shrine. Have any good New Year's dreams?"

"U-uh well, I had a dream of the culture fest we had a while back…"

"Oh yeah? You did say it was a lot of fun."

"It was."

"Well then I'm sure the dream was just as much fun, if not more hmm?"

"I-it was…"

"Well, there's breakfast downstairs. Hurry and get ready. Don't forget, you said you were going to meet Tomo to walk with her to the shrine."

Yomi could feel her face heating up.

"O-oh. R-right. Be right down, Mom!"

The thought of Yomi going to see Tomo was making her feel giddy.

_What the hell is wrong with you Yomi. Calm down. It was just a dream after all. Not like it means anything…..right? _


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Terribly sorry for the long wait. I haven't given up on this story. Just been really busy. A couple more chapters to follow this one shortly. Please read and review!**

Chapter 15

_There she is_

Kaugra was walking up to her favorite shrine when she spotted Sakaki.

_Damn! She's with her group of friends!_

Kagura couldn't get the taller girl out of her head since the sports fest. Usually, the only thing on her mind was swimming, running, and anything else that was sports related. However, there was something about Sakaki that stuck with Kagura and she couldn't figure out what it was.

She sighed and made her way up to the shrine with money offering.

_Please, let this be a good year for me in sports. _

Kagura paused, thinking slightly before adding one more request.

_Also, please allow me to have the opportunity to become friends with Sakaki._

Kagura turned around to step off the shrine and ended up stepping on the foot of the woman behind her.

"Damn! Shit! Ow, watch where you're going, kid!"

"Oh, I'm sorry…"

"Yukari do you have to be so….Kagura?"

The athlete shifted her attention to the woman standing next to the one shouting obscenities.

"Coach! C-coach's friend, sorry again."

"Oh it's alright Kagura, she'll be fine."

"Like hell I'll be fine, my foot is throbbing!" shouted Yukari

"Yukari calm down!"

Kagura watched the two bicker for a while before she noticed that they were creating a scene.

"So coach, what are you doing here?"

Nyamo heard Kagura talking to her and noticed how the crowd was starting to start stop and stare. She quickly dragged Yukari to another area, motioning Kagura to follow.

"Sorry about that Kagura." Nyamo glared at Yukari before answering Kagura's question.

"I suppose we're here for the same reason you are. Just trying to get in a few New Year's wishes."

"Not me," started Yukari, "I'm just here because Nyamo said she was taking me out to dinner!"

Nyamo ignored Yukari's statement.

"So Kagura, any good wishes this year?"

"Sorta…Oh! Hey coach, you could help me with one of them! Actually, you can help me with both, but that's besides the point."

"Okay, well what do you need?"

Kagura glanced over at Yukari who was thoroughly interested in what Kagura had to say.

Nyamo saw Kagura's hesitation.

"Uhm Yukari, do you mind?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Sure."

Yukari moved about a foot away earning a sigh from Nyamo.

"Do you want to take a quick walk Kagura?" Nyamo knew that Yukari would not want to take part of any kind of exercise and would leave them alone.

"Sure coach!"

The student and the teacher walked a ways off from the crowd and found a nice path to walk on.

A minute later, Nyamo spoke up.

"So Kagura, what is it I can help you with?"

"Well you see coach, I have a favor to ask you…. But…. But I don't want you to get offended. "

"Offended?"

"Yeah, well you see. I was wondering if maybe… you could put me in your friend's homeroom this school year?"

"Y-you want to be put in Yukari's home room?"

"Yeah, but not because I don't like your homeroom. I mean honestly… she kinda scares me a little."

Nyamo laughed. "She scares me too sometimes…"

After a few moments of silence, the P.E. teachers' curiosity got the best of her.

"So, is there a reason why you want to be changed over into Yukari's home room?"

Kagura struggled for a bit on whether she should tell her P.E. teacher or not. She decided quickly however that if she could trust anyone, it was her coach.

"W-well… I just want to be able to get close to…. I don't know how to put this. It's kind of strange."

Kagura stopped talking. Nyamo looked on quizzically.

"Get close to who Kagura?"

"Sakaki."

"Sakaki?"

"Yeah. I don't know what it is coach. I just feel like I need to be near her. Maybe being around her will allow me to challenge myself more athletically. Or maybe…."

Kagura kept talking but Nyamo was no longer listening. Being a fairly observant person, her mind reflected back to the day of the sports fest. She remembered how Kagura was in awe over Sakaki. How she could not tear her eyes away from the other girl more than a few seconds. Then how strange it was when Kagura jumped at the chance to join the dance only after Sakaki joined.

Nyamo figured she knew exactly why Kagura wanted to switch classes, whether the younger girl knew it or not.

_Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. I guess we'll just wait and see._

Nyamo smiled slightly as she tuned back into Kagura; the girl had yet to stop talking. When Nyamo interrupted Kagura, she was talking about how she would try to get the Sakaki to join the swim team.

"Kagura….Kagura!"

"Yeah coach?" asked Kagura, finally closing her mouth.

"I'll put you over in Yukari's class. It's no big deal." Said Nyamo smiling down at Kagura.

"Really coach? Thanks!" Kagura suddenly felt full of energy and started to pick up her pace.

"It's no problem, just remember I was your homeroom teacher first. If you need anything at all… don't hesitate to ask!"

"Of course coach! I gotta train for the upcoming season! See ya at school!"

The older woman watched the girl run off ahead of her before turning around to make her way back to the shrine to find her friend.

When she got back, she spotted Yukari with five girls from her class.

"Happy New Years, girls!" said Nyamo as she approached the group.

"Happy New Years Ms. Kurosawa!" they all greeted simultaneously.

"I take it you all are here making wishes as well?"

"Yes!" started Chiyo. "We were just discussing our New Years dreams. I didn't have one this year, but everyone said I played a part in their dreams!"

"Well, that's interesting…" said Nyamo laughing. The teachers stood there and talked to girls for a bit before deciding it was time to leave.

"Well I think it's time we get going. You girls have a nice day. See you at school tomorrow!"

Nyamo and Yukari made their way back to the car.

"I didn't have a New Years dream this year," started Nyamo. "what about you, Yukari?"

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah, I did."

"What was it about?"

"Hey, so what did that Kagura girl want?" Yukari asked, abruptly changing the subject as she settled into the passenger seat of Nyamo's car.

"I was about to tell you that. She wants to be switched to your homeroom."

"Really? Are you gonna do it?"

"Yeah. I may be wrong but I think…."

"OH YEAH!" Yukari shouted, pumping both her fists into the air. "We're gonna be unstoppable at this years' sports fest!"

"Are you serious Yukari? Is beating me at events and winning bets really that important to you?"

Yukari put her hands down and looked at Nyamo.

"Well yeah, because I get to go out with you afterwards everytime…"

Nyamo stopped and stared at Yukari, mouth agape at the confession.

But Yukari continued.

"…. and I never have to pay for myself."

Nyamo let out a long sigh as she drove off.

"Of course."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

It was the first day of class and everyone was nervous about the class change up. However, no one was more nervous than Kagura. She shuffled into school, full of worry that her coach was not able to make the change in time.

The night before, Kagura was having trouble sleeping, worried about not getting into Yukari's class. The reason to why she wanted so desperately to get closer to Sakaki baffled her, but she didn't give it much thought, focusing more on what she should say to the girl when she finally met her.

Kagura slowly walked down the hallway where she could see groups of people, some celebrating, others sighing and groaning about the change up.

_Alright Kagura. Just relax. Your name will be there. If it's not…well it's not like it's the end of the world…. Right?_

Kagura approached the boards with homeroom assignments pinned upon them. Inhaling, she went up and looked at the papers.

_Okay…Yukari…..Yukari…ah there it is…..yes! Coach pulled through for me!_

Kagura's name was the last on the list, confirming her change in homerooms.

She bolted off in the direction of her new homeroom with a wide grin on her face, hoping Sakaki would be there already.

When she arrived, her eyes were immediately drawn to a girl with long black hair. She was sitting at her desk, staring out the window dreamily, with her head resting in her hand.

Pushing the nervous thoughts from her head, Kagura walked right up to Sakaki and started talking.

"Hey! You're Sakaki right?"

The seated girl looked up at Kagura and nodded before returning her gaze back outside the window.

Kagura frowned at Sakaki's lack of immediate interest in her, but started back up.

"Well, my name is Kagura. You might remember me from the sports fest?"

Sakaki turned her had back around. She studied Kagura shortly before shaking her head and turning back to the window.

"W-what? You… you don't remember me?"

"No. Can't say that I do. I'm sorry."

Kagura's heart dropped.

"R-really? I was the anchor for class 5. I almost had you until the final stretch…"

"I'm sorry." Sakaki repeated, still staring out the window.

"Oh."

_What the hell Kagura? So she doesn't remember you. This shouldn't be bothering you this much. Get over it. Be strong about it. _

"Well! Shouted Kagura, making Sakaki jump and give her full attention. "We're gonna be rivals until one of us is declared champion!" proclaimed Kagura, pointing a finger at Sakaki.

"H-huh?" asked Sakaki, with a slight look of terror in her face.

_Maybe that was too strong…._

"HA! Fat chance!"

Kagura looked over to her side where a girl with black hair was looking at her and smirking.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Kagura, angry at the girls' mocking tone of voice.

"Sakaki is the best athlete in the school, and she doesn't even have to try!"

The girl walked over and put her arm to rest on one of Kagura's shoulders.

"I saw you at the sports fest. You lost to her in both races!"

Kagura could feel her face getting hot. She balled up her fists ready to knock the girl out.

"Tomo! Leave her alone!"

The brown haired girl with glasses came and grabbed Tomo away from Kagura.

"Sorry about her. Kagura right? I saw you at the sports fest. You're really good."

"Hey, thanks!"

_At least someone remembered me_

"I'm Yomi by the way. I'd like to say you'll get used to Tomo, but you won't."

"Hey! C'mon Yomi! You know I was just having fun." Said Tomo, draping her arm around Yomi's neck.

"GET OFF!" Yomi shouted a lot louder than she meant to, earning strange looks from the class.

"Geez, Yomi," started Tomo who had actually been rattled by the outburst, "what's up with you?"

"N-nothing. "

"Heya there everybody!" greeted Osaka, giving Yomi the much needed distraction.

"Oh, looks like we got a new student! Mah name is Osaka, and this here is Chiyo-chan!"

"Hello Miss Kagura," greeted Chiyo. "I remember you from the sports fest last year. You were the star athlete from class five right?"

Kagura blushed, grinning slightly.

"Y-yeah, I guess I was…"

"Well, it's good to have you in our class. I'm sure you are going to like our homeroom teacher Miss Yuk….."

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!"

The class did as they were told, used to Yukari barging into class and barking orders at them.

Kagura however, just stood there stunned. She knew Yukari was brash outside the classroom, but she wouldn't figure her to be the same while teaching students.

Yukari's gaze fell on Kagura.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Find a seat!"

Kagura quickly sat in an empty seat behind Tomo, excited that the desk happened to be next to Sakaki's.

"Alright boys and girls, I know it's the first day of school and all and I should be all cheery and teaching you new things, but I'm not! There's construction going on around my house right now, so I didn't get enough sleep last night, and probably won't be able to for a while. "

The class groaned.

"So, until I find a solution, you guys will just copy what I write on the board every day while I get my much needed sleep!"

And with that Yukari wrote a paragraph on the board and fell asleep on her desk.

Kagura looked around the class before calling Tomo's attention.

"Hey Tomo, is she always…."

"Like this? Yeah! Isn't she great?"

Kagura stared confusedly at Tomo, but it all made sense when Tomo turned back around and fell asleep herself.

She wondered if her changing homerooms was worth it, but one glance to the girl on her left quickly shoved that thought out of her head. Kagura sighed and started to copy the paragraph in English as best she could.

The first day seemed to drag for the athlete as all she really wanted to do was talk to Sakaki. They were too busy in all their classes and when lunch rolled around, Sakaki was nowhere in sight. Kagura sat with the other girls, getting to know them better, whom she enjoyed because they were very nice and funny, but she couldn't get Sakaki out of her head.

It was nearing the end of the school day and Kagura was back in Yukari's class, stealing glances of Sakaki while she stared out the window.

Finally the last school bell chimed and Kagura decided that this would be her chance to really talk to Sakaki and get to know her better.

She noticed how Sakaki already had her things neatly packed in her school bag and was heading out the door. Kagura looked down at her desk, which was a mess with scattered textbooks and papers. Without giving it much thought, she stuffed everything on the desk as fast as she could and hurried out the school building to catch up with Sakaki.

Kagura panicked upon reaching the lower level. She forgot how on the first day of school the after school clubs set up booths to try and recruit people. It was packed, and Kagura thought for a second that she had no hope finding Sakaki. However, much to Kagura's delight, it was fairly easy to spot the girl because of her height. Kagura started jogging toward her.

"Sakaki! Hey! Sakaki!"

The taller girl turned around, her face emotionless, expecting it to be yet another person trying to get her to join an after school club, but was quite relieved to see that it was only Kagura.

"Hey Sakaki. Mind if I walk home with you? I don't have a club today."

"You….you want to walk with me?"

"Mhmm….why not?"

Sakaki looked at the shorter girl and smiled slightly before nodding her head.

They walked in silence for a while, Sakaki just wanting to get through the large crowd of people that seemed to be following her everywhere. Kagura was next to her, in awe over how many people were asking Sakaki to join their club and how she politely declined them all without stopping.

"So I guess you don't have any plans to join after school clubs then huh?" asked Kagura sheepishly.

"No."

_So much for asking about the swim club. I hope coach isn't disappointed…"_

Silence loomed over them once more. Kagura, walking slightly behind Sakaki was frantically raking her mind for something to talk about, although she was almost content with simply walking with Sakaki.

After a few minutes, Kagura decided she was tired of the silence and opened her mouth to start talking, but just was she was going to get a word out, Sakaki stopped walking suddenly. Her attention was focused on the ledge slightly above her head.

Kagura followed Sakaki's line of sight and saw a grey cat staring right back at Sakaki. Looking back at Sakaki, she saw her face start to turn red and her slowly reaching her hand out to pet the cat.

Kagura couldn't help but hold her breath in anticipation as Sakaki's hand got closer to cat. Just as she was about to make contact, the cat opened its mouth wide and clamped down on Sakaki's hand.

"Ow." said Sakaki not loud enough for anyone but Kagura to hear.

Almost immediately when it happened Kagura strode forward and gave the cat a good whack on the head.

"No! Bad! Bad cat!"

Kagura repeatedly hit the cat until it turned and ran away.

"That should teach him," said Kagura, turning around to face Sakaki. She was surprised to see tears starting to form in her eyes.

_He must've really bit her hard._

"W-why?" asked Sakaki

"Why what?"

"Why did you hit him?"

"Because he bit you! Cats like that need to be taught a lesson."

Kagura had a triumphant look on her face from what she thought was her protecting Sakaki, but when she saw Sakaki's face harden up and turn away, she knew immediately that she had made a mistake.

_Shit. I blew that I guess. _

Both of the girls were silent again, this time Kagura made no attempt to say anything, disheartened by the previous events. It wasn't until the split to their houses that Kagura mumbled a few words.

"See you tomorrow Sakaki!"

"Bye."

Kagura turned and walked towards her house with hands behind her head.

_What the hell was that Kagura? There is no reason for you to be acting like that around her. Just because she's good at sports, and graceful, strong, pretty…. No not pretty, beatif…..wait, what? I don't…. Do I? No, I can't. I…I need to run._

Kagura took off in light jog, passing her house, attempting to clear her head from very confusing thoughts.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Nyamo entered the faculty room, exhausted from the first day of the new school year. She was more so exhausted over constantly thinking about the end of this week. Her mom had called her just before bed last night, telling Nyamo that she had set up a set date and time for her to meet the man Nyamo was to marry. Their first meeting was to be this Saturday night at a restaurant. Nyamo tried to give many excuses but her mom would hear none of it.

Saturday was all that was occupying Nyamo's mind as she entered the faculty room, until she heard extremely loud snoring from none other than her best friend. Nyamo looked around apologetically to the teachers who were being disturbed by her as she walked towards Yukari.

Nyamo sat down next to Yukari, carefully trying to wake her up so she wouldn't make a scene.

"Yukari…. Yukari?" Nyamo said, shaking her shoulder.

"Wha?" asked Yukari, sitting up for a second before leaning into Nyamo, her head now resting on her shoulder, her arms loosely snaked their way around her waist.

Nyamo's face blushed red. She glanced sideways to see raised eyebrows from other teachers.

"Y-Yukari wake up!" said Nyamo pushing Yukari off of her.

She pushed a little too hard, because Yukari swung fully towards her desk, effectively slamming her head on the top of the desk.

Nyamo prepared herself for an outburst but much to her surprise, Yukari simply mumbled a few curse words her way before snoring again.

_Wow. I wonder what has got her so tired. _

"C'mon Yukari. We need to go. I have some grocery shopping to do."

"Mmmmghmmm."

"I don't know what you're saying."

"Immmghmm"

"Okay. Let's go." Nyamo heaved Yukari up and put an arm around her shoulder. She was relieved to see that Yukari was able to at least shuffle and not have to put her whole weight on Nyamo.

When they finally reached the car, Nyamo leaned Yukari up against it so she could unlock the passenger side for Yukari.

"Alright, in you go." Nyamo helped Yukari get into the seat.

"Can I drive?" asked Yukari sleepily.

"Sure."

"Really?"

"No." Said Nyamo closing the door after she buckled Yukari in.

Yukari grunted in response and leaned the seat all the way back.

Nyamo got in and started the car.

"So, what's got you so tired Yukari?"

"Construction. House. Can't sleep."

"Ahh."

Nyamo looked at her friend and couldn't help but feel bad. She knows how Yukari is about sleep, and how she can hardly function without it.

_I can only wonder what she'll be putting her students through. _Nyamo grimaced. _Maybe I should…_

"Hey Yukari…."

"Hmm?"

"You can stay at my place for a few days… you know… if you want."

Yukari finally opened her eyes. She looked at Nyamo.

"Really?"

"Yeah of course. I mean, just until the construction is done at your place."

"Hmm. Okay. What's for dinner?"

"Is food all you care about?"

"No. I care about other stuff…"

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Drinks."

Nyamo shook her head. "I have to do some grocery shopping. I'll drop you off at your house so you can get some stuff together. I'll pick you up when I'm done."

"Mmkay."

Yukari's snoring started back up as Nyamo drove the rest of the way to her house. She had to help Yukari out of the car and to the door of her house.

Nyamo then headed for the grocery store, to now buy enough dinner for two people for at least a couple of days.

She walked in and aimlessly wandered up and down the aisles.

_Hmm what should I make Yukari for dinner? She likes steak and crab… but that's too expensive. _Nyamo continued to walk around and somehow ended up in the meat department. _Well, I can go ahead and make some steak tonight. She would really like that. _

Nyamo picked out Yukari's favorite steak. _Well, since I am already getting steak, I might as well as get the crab. _

She made her way to the seafood department and unconsciously picked out the most expensive crab.

Just as she reached out to take the crab from the man who wrapped it up, she heard someone call her name.

"Minamo? Minamo Kurosawa?"

Nyamo snapped her head up.

"Hey! I can't believe it's you!"

Nyamo looked to her right and spotted the woman who was calling her name.

_Eiko._

"Minamo! I knew it was you. Look at you, you look great!"

Nyamo blushed and looked down; Memories and feelings flooding into her from the past.

"E-eiko. You…you look good too. H-how are you?"

"Oh thanks! I'm good. I'm in town for business for a few days. Gosh, how long has it been since we've seen each other?"

"Since… since high school."

"Well we certainly have a lot to catch up on…Oh. Steak and crab I see." Said Eiko pointing into Nyamo's cart. "Does Miss Minamo have a special someone in her life?"

"W-what? Oh. No. No….I…I just really like crab and steak."

Eiko chuckled. "Oh okay. Then I won't feel to bad about asking you to dinner this Friday? We have a lot to catch up on."

"D-dinner…this Friday? With me?"

"Yes of course!"

Nyamo's heart starting pounding and it took all she had to not shout in response.

"Yes. I'd love to!"

"Alright, it's a date! Here's my card, call me later in the week so we can decide on a restaurant. See you then Minamo."

"B-bye!"

Nyamo rushed the rest of the way through the grocery store. Smiling the whole way earning strange looks from the passing customers, but at the moment, Nyamo was so happy, she didn't care.

When she picked up Yukari she was still smiling, and Yukari of course had noticed.

"Why are you in such a good mood Nyamo?"

"I-I ran into someone at the grocery store."

"Who?"

"Eiko."

Yukari gave her full attention to Nyamo.

"Eiko? Love letter Eiko? The first love of your life…Eiko?"

Nyamo's smile faded slightly at the mention of the love letter, but it didn't kill her mood.

"Yup. And guess what."

"What?"

"She asked me out to dinner on Friday."

"She did huh?"

"Yeah!"

"And she meant it as in a real date? Like holding hands and kiss goodnight."

"Y-yeah," said Nyamo, getting red at the thought. "She asked first if I had a special someone after she saw what I was buying for dinner."

"Nah, there's no way. She is most definitely straight… wait, what did you get for dinner?" asked Yukari.

"Straight? But, why would she ask if I was seeing someone before asking me out this Friday night?"

"I bet you bought crab didn't you? Or steak?"

"Answer the question Yukari!"

"Oh I don't know… But people who are straight, don't just turn gay, they're kind of gay their whole life. And she definitely was straight, now answer the question!"

"Ugh, I bought both! People can change, can't they?"

"Wahoo! Steak and crab, steak and crab! I need to stay over at your house more often!"

Nyamo was ignoring Yukari, reflecting back on her encounter with Eiko.

_She was straight in high school. She had a boyfriend here and there. But, people… people can definitely change. And she asked me out this Friday. So nothing to worry about, except maybe about what I should wear. _


End file.
